


Tony loses the plot

by Izzyp1411



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), the avenger - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Awkward Boners, Bartender Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Chair dancing, Changing Tenses, Crack Treated Seriously, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Gen, Hospitalization, Lap dancing, M/M, Multi, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Other, Playlist incuded, Pole Dancing, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Smut if we are up to it, Stripper Bucky Barnes, Stripper Steve Rogers, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2020-11-28 05:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20961050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzyp1411/pseuds/Izzyp1411
Summary: Endgame sucked so we're writing an AU. Everybody lives and decide to open up a strip club to deal with their trauma, working under the guise of doppelgangers. All except Peter, who is confused as to why Tony keeps disappearing for hours on end.orThe Avengers stripper AU that no one asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning- tenses change a lot because multiple people wrote this.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mishap at the club leaves Tony fearing his personal life will be revealed.

Tony Stark sat comfortably in his heated red and gold suit, a wine glass of tequila, two olives, dry, resting in his hands.

“Are you really going to sit on your ass all day?” FRIDAY sassed. Tony rolled over trying to ignore FRIDAY, then realised he was in his suit and FRIDAY is inescapable.

“Shut the fuck up FRIDAY or I’ll program you to never feel love,” he drunkenly slurred.

“Sir, I don’t feel love,” FRIDAY blatantly responded. Tony cursed under his breath and made a mental note to make FRIDAY feel love so he can rip it away at a moment’s notice.

Suddenly, his flip phone buzzed, preventing FRIDAY’s torture. He goes to lean over the bar to grab it but immediately face plants off the couch. “ShitMotherFuckingDucksBitch!”

After the pain in his face subsided, he clasped the phone in his hand and flipped open his phone. It’s Peter, who stays over every weekend.

“Hey Tony, are we still on for dinner?” he inquired hopefully. He responded “yes” and then closed the flip phone, going to change into something more comfortable. As he was taking off the suit he realised he had a shift at the club tonight.

“Fuck.”

\---

Steve walked up to the bright lights of the club, his red, white and blue shorts hugging his toned ass.

He had planned to have a movie marathon with Natasha that night and was about to get ready when Tony called, asking him to cover his shift. He suddenly stopped underneath the neon sign, considering if he should just turn around and go home, leaving Tony to deal with his own mess.

“Hey, is that Captain America? Captain America! HEY!”

A young boy with a voice he couldn’t quite place waved in his direction, rocking Steve out of his thoughts. He was suddenly aware of his outfit, unconsciously tugging the hem of his short-shorts lower where they hung around his waist.

“Sorry, I think you got the wrong guy. I get that a lot though.” Steve effortlessly lied. The boy opened his mouth as if to reply but was interrupted by what looked to be his friend.

“Come on, Peter, we’re going to be late for dinner, Mr St-”

“Alright alright, I’m coming. Bye Captain America,” the boy waved again before walking off.

Steve let out a sigh of relief as he turned around and entered the club.

\---

“So you think there’s a Spider-Man stripper?”

“Ned, stop! Tony might hear!”

“Might hear what?”

Stunned, Ned and Peter spun around to find Mr Stark in an apron at the door, smeared with bolognese sauce and holding a wooden spoon, the smell of burnt pasta wafting through the air.

“We saw a stripper that looked exactly like Captain America,” Ned chortled.

“A hot version of Captain America,” Peter chuckled bashfully, looking away.

Tony dropped his wooden spoon and it loudly clanged to the floor in the followed silence. Once he noticed the boys’ glances, he coughed awkwardly, fighting off his new wave of stress. “Ooookay then… Who wants pasta?”

As they all sat eating the home-cooked meal, Tony couldn’t help his onslaught of overactive thoughts, the possibility Peter had walked even close to the club too much to bear.

Being a stripper was riskier than being an Avenger. The stripper lifestyle was one all the Avengers became accustomed to, but they didn’t have a son figure like Tony did to worry about, and they were unaware of his circumstances.

“-don’t you think, Tony?” Peter inquired with a curious gaze.

Tony realised he had missed everything Peter had said, and with a guilty shake of his head, replied, “Sorry, what was that?”

“Thor would be a better husband than Vision, don’t you think?”

“Wait, what?”

“F, marry, kill. Thor, Vision or The Hulk,” Ned supplied helpfully.

“Fuck Thor, marry Hulk, kill Vision.” Tony replied with a speed that shocked Ned and Peter into a stunned silence.

“What?” Tony inquired. “Wasn’t expecting that?”

The two boys quickly shook their heads, a surprised laugh bubbling out of both of their throats. The game continued into the night even after all the pasta was cleaned from their plates.

“Anyone want dessert? I have vanilla ice cream with ice magic, or would you prefer Hulk-a-hulk-a-burning fudge?” Tony asked, making his way to the fridge. Everyone opted for the ice magic (for some reason) and sat on the couch to watch a movie.

Peter flicked through the channels, searching for something to watch when he landed on Magic Mike, Ned laughing at his choice.

“Dude, could you imagine being a stripper?” Ned teasingly asked.

Peter chuckled, “Yeah, my stripper name would be ‘Spider-Man’.”

The two boys laughed, Tony tensing at the conversation. Tony tensed even more when the two friends discussed the flexibility and skill of a stripper, Channing Tatum in particular.

As the night lingered on and more movies were watched, Peter and Ned grew more and more tired, eyes drooping in and out of consciousness. Tony picked up two fluffy blankets and wrapped the boys in a warm cocoon, tucking them in and turning the TV off as he made his way to bed.

As he got comfortable and finally rested his tired eyes, a sudden blaring noise brought him back to his senses. His phone was ringing.

_Who the fuck is ringing this late?_

“Hello?”

“Tony, it’s Nick. We need you in, there’s been an accident.”

\---

The flashing red and blue lights of the S.H.I.E.L.D ambulance coincided with Captain America’s clenched ass cheeks in his American themed booty shorts. He stood in _ant_icipation (lol) as the fate of Scott Lang now rested in the hands of the S.H.I.E.L.D operatives as his tiny mangled body was rolled away.

Tony warily approached Steve. “How did this happen?” Tony asked.

Steve’s mouth was set in a frown, his arms tightly crossed to fend off the biting cold. “Scott was working on a client in his ant form. She got a bit too excited and stood on him.”

Tony sighs, rubbing a hand to his creased forehead. “Well that’s just great, it’s not like this ruined my night or anything,” he mumbles.

Steve turns an inquiring gaze towards Tony, his eyebrow raised in question. “What? Were you busy or something?”

Tony’s palms began to sweat, the cold no longer an unwanted presence. “No, no. Nothing planned. So is he gonna be alright?” he says, swiftly changing the subject.

Steve sighs, his concerned expression returning. “We don’t know yet. His ribs are cracked, one of his arms is broken. They think maybe he won’t be able to work again.”

Tony knows his worries should be solely focused on Scott, but he can’t help his thoughts from going to other places.

Won’t be able to work again? So that’s one less Avenger to work, which means extra shifts, which means more time at the club, which means less time with Peter, which means Peter finds out. “So, what does this mean for the club?” Tony inquired with a weak attempt at keeping his voice even.

“The SHIELD operatives are good, but it'll be a while until Scott completely heals. So we’ll need everyone to pick up extra shifts. Is that okay with you?”

Panic washed over Tony that he managed to conceal with a cough. “Ah yep, I can’t-can definitely… do that,” Tony replied with obvious trepidation that Steve ignored; probably brushing it off as worry for Scott.

As he watched Steve make his way around to each Avenger to tell them the news, Tony began desperately devising a way to get out of his duties in the entertainment business. Before he could come up with a solid plan that didn’t involve faking his death, there was a vibration from his pocket. Peter.

“Heyyyy Peter,” Tony said, trying to sound casual but ultimately failing.

“You disappeared, FRIDAY told me you left."

“Oh yeah, duty calls. Ah...did you need something?” Tony replied.

“Uh yeah, just wondering where the leftover pasta is?” Peter replied sheepishly.

“You do realise its 2am, right?”

“Yeah, Ned and I woke up and wanted to finish the life-sized LEGO™ replica of R2-D2,” Peter explained without a trace of shame.

As it was a weekend, Tony decided to humour him. “In the fridge on the sixth floor. It’s behind the grapes. You better go back to bed after this.” Tony knew Peter would ignore his last comment because when Peter was up, he was up for good.

After a quick goodbye, Tony hung up his Stark Phone™ and went back to panicking, but decided that he would be able to come up with a plan after some alcohol.

As Tony entered the tower, he pushed open the door as slowly as possible so as not to disturb Peter and Ned. As he put down the keys, he heard muffled giggles emitting from Peter’s room and the unmistakable sound of the Star Wars theme. Smiling to himself, Tony started to pour himself a glass of scotch.

He downed the scotch in one swig as if it was water. Rubbing his head, he got up, deciding he should turn in. Tomorrow he’d spend the rest of the day with Peter before his night shift.

As he drifted off he ran through the routines he would do the following night. He slipped in and out of consciousness, exhausted from the events of the night. His phone vibrated against his bedside table, emitting an annoying sound. He sighed heavily, his restless slumber awoken from.

The bright light of his phone was painful to look at but the face he saw on the caller ID made his heart stop, feeling more awake than ever. He swiped to answer and put the phone against his ear.

“....Hello?” He sat up in bed, awaiting the voice he had become so accustomed to overtime.

“Tony, it’s Pepper. We need to talk.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to circumstances, Bucky discovers he is being promoted from topless waiter to stripper. But wait... he must be trained by... the love of his life, fire in his loins - his childhood best friend.  
Natasha is amused.

Bucky felt a shiver as the cold air of the club brushed against his naked chest.

Being a topless waiter had its downsides when all you had were booty shorts and a bow tie to keep you warm. Yet, he barely registered the cold when Steve’s performance was so hot.

Steve moved in perfect sync with the heavy base of the Star-Spangled Banner Remix, pulling and twirling higher and higher up the thin pole with each thump of the song, earning enthusiastic sounds from the large crowd of people gathered around the stage in worship. As the final base dropped Steve fell into his end pose, the middle splits, hands wrapped around the pole, an intense stare on his sweat glistened face that Bucky could have sworn was focused on him.

After the _cap_tivating routine Steve performed was finished, Vision’s booming voice announced over the clubs microphone system that ‘Iron Man's striptease’ was up next. The crowd let out an enthusiastic cheer as Tony strutted onto the stage, the lights dimming to emphasise the glow of his Iron Man suit.

Bucky took the crowds distracted attention as an opportunity to clear some of the empty glasses from the round tables scattered around the room. Stacking the glasses onto his tray, Bucky made his way back to the bar where Natasha stood, cocktail mixer in hand.

“I see you enjoyed Steve’s performance,” she said with a knowing smirk. Bucky made his way behind the bar to begin washing the glasses down, ignoring Natasha’s obvious teasing.

“Any news about Scott?” Bucky was quick to change the topic.

“He’s stuck on bed rest for a couple of months, then he has to do some physical therapy so he won’t be back for a while,” she says while mixing another drink.

“Who’s gonna fill his shifts?” Bucky asked, quirking his eyebrow.

“Well…” Natasha said turning away from Bucky, a guilty look on her face. A sense of panic washed over Bucky as Natasha continued. “I might’ve suggested…that a certain waiter would be happy to help...”

“Tash!”

“What! I’ve seen your moves, you can dance.”

“Yeah! Not lap dance!” Bucky exclaimed, throwing down his washcloth in rebellion.

“Hey, calm down. The pay is better, the tips are amazing and…”

“And what!”

“Steve is your trainer,” she taunted with a glint of mischief in her eye.

In shock, Bucky dropped the glass in his hand, drawing the attention of the club patrons. He went to start cleaning up the broken glass and fetched the dustpan and broom wordlessly, Natasha waving to the others that they had it handled.

“Need some help?” They both jerked their heads around in surprise to find Steve. Bucky and Natasha both prayed he did not hear the earlier conversation.

Steve was clad in sweats and a tight v-neck, his forehead glistening with sweat from his earlier exertion. Bucky gulped, quickly looking away hoping Steve didn’t see him staring too long at his toned body. “No we’re good here-” Bucky began to say before he was interrupted by Natasha.

“Actually....we need to move some stock out from the back, could you give Bucky a hand?”

“Of course, what are we looking for?”

“Some new curtains for the private rooms.”

Steve nodded, turning to enter the back. Bucky gave Natasha a sharp glare but followed Steve into the back room without argument.

The silence in the storeroom was tense as they entered, Bucky refusing to meet Steve’s eyes. He could feel Steve’s burning gaze on him as he looked into the crates searching for the curtains, desperately trying to avoid the conversation he knew was coming.

“So…shame what happened to Scott.”

“Yeah.” An awkward silence settled over the room once more, making Bucky feel more anxious than ever.

“Did Nat tell you who was filling in?”

Bucky debated on whether he should tell the truth or not, but he nodded, knowing he couldn’t hide anything from Steve. Their past prevented him from that.

Steve delicately placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting him with a soft caress. “If you’re too uncomfortable with it, we can get someone else-”

Swinging around, Bucky quickly interrupted Steve; his face was flushed, his embarrassment shining through. “No! No, it’s fine! I'll do it!" 

Steve seemed to relax at this and took a step closer, now inches apart. His eyes flicked to Bucky’s lips and back to his eyes. Slowly Steve started to lean in, his breath on Bucky’s lips. Bucky wasn’t sure if this was real or a dream; his heart pounded out of his chest.

“Steve I-”

Before Bucky could profess his true feelings, Bruce burst through the doors in a purple silk robe, the fine detailing accentuating his toned body; embroidered above his right pec was the letters B.B. “What’s up, guys. Did you find my curtains?” Banner questioned somewhat impatiently.

Bucky felt panic wash over him. Neither of them had properly looked for them.

“Right here,” Steve said, randomly handing over the first pile of sheer curtains he could find, revealing a matching purple-toned set. “Well....doctor, you should get back to your patients." Steve joked.

Bucky and Steve both chuckled, albeit a little awkwardly. With a wink, Bruce slid out of the room, leaving the two alone again. A space had now come between them from where they’d jumped apart.

“Well, better get back to it,” Steve said, breaking the silence. Bucky turned back to him, still jumpy from the interruption. “I’ll be working the rest of the night, but tomorrow we’re both rostered off so we’ll start with the basics then.”

Before Bucky could get a word in, Steve stepped close and with a pat on his shoulder, exited the room.

The heat of Steve’s breath still lingered on Bucky’s lips.

\---

Bucky sat cramped in his small tub, facemask applied, his shoulders tense from the long week.

He was finally able to unwind, the scent of pine filling the room. Constant steam rose from the tub wafting through the room. To most the water would seem scalding, burning to the touch, but he wouldn’t dare let the water drop in temperature. Otherwise, the memories would come flooding back. Memories of falling, memories of falling into the unforgivable grasps of the frozen ravine. The memories almost flooded back full force.

Instead of dwelling on past events, he dropped a recently purchased bath bomb into the water and let the relaxing lavender smell wash over him. Bucky always associated the smell of flowers with Steve as it was added to his many medicines by his mother. If he closes his eyes, he can almost imagine the scene: Steve, lying in bed, his frame so thin he could disappear into the bed; sweat beads at his temple, an asthmatic cough the only sound that fills the room.

_Bucky enters Steve’s small room. Sarah’s upbeat but worried welcome left him with a sense of guilt, weighing heavily whenever Steve had an episode of sickness. He felt the urge to protect Steve from the world, from bullies and the bitter Brooklyn winters, but his sickness’ was something that no one had control over._

_“You look like shit,” Bucky says lightly from the doorway. Steve looks up from his pile of blankets, his sickly face forming a small grin._

_“I could say the same about you.” He says, laugh turning into a congested cough. Bucky rushes to his side, picking up the discarded glass of water from his bedside table and putting it against his lips. Steve takes a few sips and the coughing calms._

_“Thanks Buck.” His voice is hoarse from sickness and disuse, the confinement to his bed leaving him lonely and cold. Steve’s body shakes with an abrupt shiver, his teeth chattering. Wordlessly, Bucky slides in next to him, wrapping his toned arm around his lithe waist, the warmth enveloping him._

_Steve lets out a huff of annoyance, his fond smile betraying him. “You’re suffocating me, Buck.”_

_Despite his amused tone, Bucky instantly draws back, grabbing the lavender ointment from Steve’s bedside table. Steve grimaces. “I don’t need that, Buck, I’m fin-”_

_Bucky silences him with a stern look that said enough. _

_Steve snaps his mouth shut. He silently unbuttons his shirt and lies back, tensing at the cold sensation of the ointment that had become familiar to him. Bucky’s hand was warm, and Steve welcomed the feeling. Bucky feels the tension in Steve’s chest relax, a repressed moan escaping from the back of his throat. _

_Steve leans in, faces inches apart-_

The sound of his phone ringing pulled Bucky out of his trance, the water now cold and his fingers pruned. He scuttles out the water, now cold and unbearable, grasping for his phone. Natasha.

He tapped decline and began his nightly routine. Once he dried off, he began to moisturise his skin, giving extra attention to his knees. After braiding his hair, he wrapped his silk robe around him and entered his room.

Opposite to his bed were rows of tall mirrors. Bucky pulled up a chair in front of them. He sighed, hooked up his phone to a speaker and opened Spotify. He was getting the hang of this whole ‘technology’ thing.

He had decided earlier that he’d practice some of Scott’s signature moves so he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of Steve. He opened Scott’s playlist and straddled the chair, Drunk in Love beginning to softly play. He began swaying and lifted his hips from the chair, only to bring them back down in a movement that he prided himself on being quite graceful. Perhaps he wouldn't embarrass himself too much.

Once satisfied that he could replicate Scott’s moves, he decided to turn in for the night.

After Bucky’s break from the club he was refreshed and ready to work. Though, thinking about his afternoon training session with Steve made his chest flutter.

Feeling hungry, he pulled out some of Sam’s famous lasagna. No one was allowed to work on an empty stomach.

After eating, he got dressed and unbraided his hair. Satisfied that his morning routine was complete, Bucky headed out to the studio Tony had bought recently for the dancers to practice in. The media had a field day when they found out about Tony’s expense. It was a good thing they only found out about the studio and not the club; that wouldn't have ended well.

The studio dubbed ‘Marvel Studios’ was worn down, sparse and contradicted its name. The walls were lined with high mirrors. In the middle of the room a lonely chair was placed next to a pole that many Avengers trained on.

Plugging his playlist into the speaker, Bucky walked over to the chair, circling it in time with the music. He swayed and kicked his leg out, slowly and sensually lowering himself onto the edge of the chair. He threw his leg over the top of the chair so that he straddled it, making sure to point his toes.

“Seems like you don’t need my training.” Steve said with a throaty chuckle. Bucky whipped his head around to see Steve leaning against the door frame, arms crossed.

“What can I say? I’m a natural.” Bucky recovered with a joke.

“Hm, I can think of a few areas of improvement.”

“Oh really?” Bucky raised an eyebrow when Steve sauntered over.

“You need to work on your legs,” he said, grabbing Bucky’s leg and guiding it outward. “Remember to keep your legs straight or you’ll knock someone out.”

If Bucky wasn’t sitting his knees would have surely buckled. The music became a dull throb at the back of his mind; Steve had his full attention. Their faces were inches apart and the grip on Bucky’s leg was firm. His gaze flickered to Steve’s open mouth but before anything could happen, Steve took a step back. He dropped his leg as if it was on fire, causing Bucky’s body to jolt.

“Well….now that we’ve warmed up I think we can get started.” Steve said, not so subtly dismissing the moment they shared only seconds ago. “I’m going to teach you some of Scott’s more complicated moves since you seem to have the basics down pat.”

Bucky nodded and listened intently as Steve explained the move he wanted him to do. Complicated was an understatement and it was difficult to picture what Steve was describing in his head.

“Maybe I should demonstrate before I go confusing you,” Steve said. “Sit down.”

Bucky sat with his back straight against the chair, preparing himself for the move Steve was about to inflict on him. In one swift movement, Steve pushed off into a handstand, his hands gripping the chair on either side of Bucky’s legs. Bucky was more than a little shocked when Steve’s legs broke apart into a split, and the twerking began. That’s America’s ass.

Bucky chuckled at the sheer ridiculousness of Steve’s position, prompting him to let out a laugh of his own. “Think you’ll be able to pull off this move ?” Steve asked, kicking back into a standing position.

“Please, I could do it one-handed.” Steve laughed and switched positions with Bucky so that he was seated in the chair. He placed his metal hand beside Steve’s toned thighs and pushed off - it took him a few tries but he finally held the position of a handstand.

“Let’s see it then.” Bucky obliged, placing his metal arm behind his back. His success made him feel cocky, and he grabbed his feet with his free arm like a skater in the air. Before Bucky could move to his next pose his arm quaked, causing him to fall. It was an embarrassing moment for both Bucky and Steve when he landed face first into his best friend’s lap.

"Sorry,” Bucky said, voice muffled by Steve’s notably well-endowed crotch.

“It happens. Remember the time I fell from the top of the pole and knocked myself out?” They both laughed at the memory.

They spent the rest of the day going through the basics of lap dancing. Some of it was uncomfortable for Bucky, not used to being a performer, but Steve managed to find humour in their situation, making it a day of bonding for the friends.

Bucky felt closer to Steve than ever before. It was just like the old days - Bucky and Steve against the world.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Pepper face the arise of a new threat.

“How did this happen?” Tony hurries down the stairs, pulling a jacket on as Pepper follows closely behind.

“I’m not sure, we didn’t even know the guy existed until today.” Her tone is urgent, matching the voice he heard when he first answered her call.

_“Tony, they found out about the club. He knows.” _

_The words made him pause, his mind struggling to understand what she was talking about. The club? _

_“The club? What're you talking about? Who found out?” _

_Pepper clearly had no time for his confusion. “Tony, the club! Somebody found out it’s actually the Avengers and not doppelgangers. I’m on my way to yours now. If this goes viral, who knows what’ll happen.” _

_Tony’s brain caught up with her words and he felt his heart thud loudly in his chest. _

_The club had become a solitude of sorts after the trauma Thanos caused and left behind; a place where they could all forget and enjoy and have fun. The thought of that being compromised, of possibly causing damage to their careers, had Tony feeling hollow and sad. And worried. How would people view them if they knew they were strippers? Would that affect their superhero status, helpers of the world and fighters of evil? And how would it affect my relationship with Peter, Tony thought. _

_“Well shit…” _

That summed it up pretty well.

“What’s his name? This guy.” They reach the end of the stairs and make their way to Happy, parked outside and awaiting their arrival. Pepper had called him in a hurry as well, offering him the little explanation she had given Tony. He ignored the unnecessary warmth that bloomed in his chest at the thought that she still trusted him; still trusted a friend of _his_.

“He goes by the name of Shakattack. None of our intelligence community had him accounted for as they never believed he was a threat.” Pepper pushed through the front door, walking impressively fast in her heels.

“Well great job on your intelligence community for completely ignoring him. He’s only threatening to expose our entire club and our identities.”

Pepper gave him a withering glare that reminded him that they were, in fact, broken up. “I’m sorry that they prioritise protecting the lives of civilians over your strip club.” She tugged the car door open, Tony following her before shutting the door.

“You should be sorry, stripping is hard work,” Tony jokes. Pepper rolls her eyes.

“Do I want to know?” Happy butts in, tone light as he looked at them through the rear view mirror.

“No. Just drive.” Happy followed the order quickly, Pepper’s demanding voice leaving no room for banter. Tony stared out the window, the lights of the Stark Tower diminishing the further they drove along.

“Let’s find out what this guy wants.”

\---

Tony stares through the two way mirror.

“So this is the guy?” Tony deadpanned. He turns to look around the room, full to the brim with high-ranked officials. “This guy? Really?”

The suited officers shifted uncomfortably, at a loss for what to say.

Tony subtlety rolled his eyes. “What’s his name? Shakattack? Tell me, who is he.”

A man stepped forward, the first one to do so in the 10 minutes that they’ve been in the hideout. “His full name is Anthony Shakattack, goes by the name Shakattack on his YouTube channel.”

“YouTube channel?” Tony interrupts. “What videos does he make?”

The man shifts awkwardly. “Gaming videos. And, uh, anti-feminist videos.” Pepper abruptly turns her head, suddenly engaged in the conversation. “He hates Carol, believes she’s a ‘disgrace to the patriarchal system that superheroes originate from.’”

Pepper’s eyebrows shoot to her forehead. “Wow, how charming.”

“We’ve been questioning him for nearly 20 minutes and he hasn’t offered much but his SoundCloud account.”

Tony crosses his arms, unimpressed. “Let us question him, me and Pepper. We’ll break him.”

Tony and Pepper enter the interrogation room, met with the sight of a young man garnished in a fedora, plaid scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. His Monster Energy Drink shirt strains against his lanky figure, his below the knee cargo shorts drowning him; his DC shoes are kicked up on the metal table.

“I want to speak to a lawyer,” he says, his face oddly red.

Tony glances at Pepper warily and sees her looking on in bemusement. “You will, in time. But for now, you’re going to answer our questions.” Pepper’s voice is stern and her expression is hard.

Shakattack’s flushed face forms an expression of disgust, attempting to look down on Pepper even under all those fedoras. “I’ll be taking questions only from him,” he says, gesturing his head towards Tony. “I don’t answer to females.”

Pepper observes that he almost looks proud of his comment, his head turned up, his fedoras almost falling off. She decides then to humour him, not wanting to waste anymore time. “Okay,” she says, composed. She turns to Tony, “Tony, do you want to ask him the questions?”

Tony sees that she’s not upset, that she almost looks smug, and he allows himself to step forward and take over. 

“Shakattack is it?” Tony slowly circles the chair Shakattack sits in, his arms crossed.

“That’s what my enemies call me,” Shakattack says.

Tony looks down at him. “But that’s your last name.”

“Yeah, so?” Shakattack appraises him like he’s the dumb one, exasperated by Tony’s comment.

Tony realises then that this man -- this boy -- is no more than a pathetic, weak, 20-something year old that lives his life in a world of fantasies.

“Okay, let’s cut to the chase then. How did you find out about the club?” Tony stops his movements and stands in front of him. Shakattack raises his head to meet his eyes, a lone fedora finally toppling to the ground because of it. He grins, and Tony tries not to grimace at the way it tugs his face into an almost clown-like expression; he thinks he sees a piece of food somewhere in there.

“You thought you were so careful, so cautious about your little club! But I figured it out just from one visit.” Shakattack looks smug, his boyish grin failing to convey him as anything but I spoilt child in need of discipline.

“Oh, so you visited?”

Shakattack’s grin becomes lopsided as one corner of his mouth falls, his expression one of startlement. He freezes almost comically, and Tony has to make a conscious effort to stifle an outburst of laughter; he can hear that Pepper failed to make the same effort, and he turns an amused expression towards her before focusing on the man-child in front of him.

“I-It’s not like that! It was purely out of research! I am NOT a homosexual, how dare you imply that!” His face gets increasingly red, almost the shade of a tomato.

Tony defensively holds his hands up in an effort to backtrack. “Hey, I wasn’t implying anything. I just want to know how you found out about the club.”

Shakattack scoffs, his expression turning smug but his face still a startling shade of red. “Isn’t it obvious?” His eyes grow wide. “You all look exactly like the Avengers, even I figured it out! Are you even trying to cover it up?”

Shakattack erupts into bouts of laughter so loud it echoes around the small space. The men behind the mirror shuffle uncomfortably at the harsh sound.

Tony feels himself becoming frustrated. Was it really so obvious they were the Avengers that even a guy who ran a YouTube gaming channel could figure it out?

Before Shakattack could give himself an asthma attack, Pepper lands a solid punch to his grinning face, the stack of fedoras on his head flying into the air behind him.

“Fuck!” Shakattack screeches at the absolute blow he just received, gripping his nose tightly where it began to bleed. Tears pool at the corners of his eyes as he attempted to soothe his face. Tony’s mouth had formed the shape of an O, shocked at Pepper’s bold actions. Although, nobody ever fucks with Pepper.

Pepper flicks her hair over her shoulder, rubbing her knuckle absentmindedly as she turns to face him. “Tony, what’re we going to do about the club?”

What was he going to do about the club?

He crosses his arms tightly, eyebrows drawn in thought. “We need to find a way to make people believe we’re just doppelgangers.”

But how?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, we're all quite busy. Enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone new joins the Avengers strip club. You guessed it, Andrew Garfield! (Because we love him). Tensions arise from this new recruit as Andrew must train with Bucky and Steve, who are still dancing around each other (literally and figuratively). 
> 
> Warning: Awkward boners (but not too awkward because I couldn't write it).

On a quiet night when customers had dwindled down to a mere handful, a young man walked in, paper clutched in hand.

“I was wondering if I could speak to the manager?” He asked Bucky, who stood behind the bar on his break.

“Sure, I’ll get her,” Bucky said sceptically, assuming the man wanted to make a complaint. Or perhaps… expose their identities. He reminded himself that he's dealt with worse.

In the backroom, Carol Danvers sat with her legs crossed upon her desk. She raised an eyebrow at Bucky in question.

“Someones here to see you.”

“Do they look like trouble?” She asked rising from her seat, always rearing for a fight.

Bucky peered through the little window overlooking the bar. The young man held what looked to be a pepper shaker up to his nose and let out violent sneezes upon sniffing it. “He seems pretty harmless.”

“Okay. I’ll go see what he wants.” She sounded disappointed by the prospect of not throwing anyone out of the club. With that, Carol exited the room, Bucky following closely behind.

Bucky leaned against the bar, sipping his water as Carol talked to the man. He was a college student named Andrew Garfield, looking for employment in the club. He explained that he had experience doing street performances in a Spider-Man suit and had been mistaken for the real hero on many occasions.

“I’m impressed.” Carol said, eyes scanning Andrew’s resume. “Photographer, internships at Oscorp. Oh and look, first place at a skateboarding championship.” Andrew nodded along with each achievement, pride in his eyes. “Are you able to have your interview now?”

Carol’s words caused Bucky to freeze. She couldn’t actually be thinking of hiring him. It was true that the real Spider-man didn’t work at the club, but it would be strange if they hired a fake Spider-man...

Oh. Bucky noted the calm smirk on Carol’s face. It was probably a smart move to hire him.

There were rumours going around the club that the media was catching on. He hadn’t missed the what they thought to be private argument Carol and Tony had had before the club opened that night. They were being threatened with being exposed as the real Avengers. If Andrew showed his face to the public while in the Spider-Man suit it would help the public believe that the Avengers were just doppelgangers. It would throw the media off their tracks considering the real Spider-man had never revealed his identity, not even the Avengers knew who he was. Andrew agreed to the interview and was taken into Carol’s office.

“I gave him the job.” Carol announced to the Avengers, who were packing up the club in various states of undress.

It had been a long shift with one lap dancer down due to the fact that Bucky was still behind the bar, his training yet to be completed. Thinking about being on the clubs stage made him nervous. Bucky thought he would have gotten out of having to be a lap dancer but apparently that was the one thing on Andrew’s long list of skills he had yet to master. He would apparently only be doing pole dancing.

“Convenient.” Bucky had growled, though he felt some relief. He wasn’t sure how he would have reacted if Steve had to train someone else.

“I’ll need Andrew to do his training with you. Just to save time, of course.” Carol said, as if reading his thoughts. Her knowing smirk infuriated him.

“Of course.” Bucky paused in thought. “Are you sure about all of this?” He asked after a while.

“No.”

“Great.”

They watched as the newly hired Andrew introduced himself to everyone. Sam threw an arm around Andrew and drew him close with a laugh. “I don't know about this guy. I think we should hire the real Spider-man.”

“NO!” Everyone turned to Tony’s outburst. “This guy just seems like the best Spider-man for the job.” He quickly recovered.

Tony was hiding something and it had something to do with Spider-man. Bucky knew Tony had a secret but he wasn’t about to call the man out on it. Tony still had an ill-concealed mistrust for Bucky that he didn't want to aggravate.

“I just want to say you guys look so much like the Avengers. The way you guys stay into character with your names, incredible!”

\---

Bucky dreaded the combined training session with Steve and Andrew. Bucky was sure Andrew was a nice guy, but his impressive resume made him feel intimidated. Bucky pushed the thought aside, walking into the dance studio.

As soon as he walked into the studio Bucky felt his eye twitch.

The audacity! Andrew had gotten there early and was stretching with Steve. Bucky wouldn't have minded if Andrew was doing some simple arm stretches, but he was doing the downward dog of all things. Back in his day they simply ran laps. Steve stood nodding and occasionally adjusted Andrew’s hips. Bucky walked into the room, cringing when he slammed the door a little too harshly behind him.

“Morning Buck.” Steve jogged up to where Bucky stood.

“Hi Bucky!” Bucky internally cringed at Andrew’s chipper voice interrupting. With a quick wave Bucky greeted everyone then sat himself down in the wooden chair in the middle of the room.

“I’m just going to show Andrew his routine then I’m all yours.” Steve winked then threw himself onto one of the poles in the room. With the grace of a ballerina, Steve swung up the pole, letting go with his hand so that only his legs were keeping him up. Bucky almost drooled at the way Steve’s strong thighs tensed around the pole. Andrew was seated on the ground filming with one hand and somehow writing notes with the other.

Bucky was enraptured by the performance, the way Steve incorporated Spider-man’s infamous poses into the routine like a natural-

“Actually Spider-man puts his middle and ring finger down.”

Steve took Andrew’s advice and quickly adjusted his hands. “I guess you know more about Spider-man than I do. Feel free to add things into the routine that you think will work.”

With that Steve left Andrew to his own devices and went to help Bucky train. Bucky was a trained soldier and didn’t miss something as small as the sideways glance Steve gave Andrew, a smile of approval on his face. Bucky felt his emotions stir and his stomach clench but he pushed it down. He refused to be jealous of some scrawny, admittedly handsome, young man. Besides, Bucky and Steve had a bond that couldn’t be replaced by someone Steve had just met (ahem Peggy). Yes, there was a slight feeling of jealousy as to the way Andrew was able to move his body so freely without thought. Bucky blamed the army and Hydra for making him such an awkward dancer. Every move he made was calculated and stiff, there was no room for careless improvisation. Now he would have to relearn everything he knew. To be sexy not a soldier. To be a different kind of dangerous.

In front of him Steve sat down in the chair. “Remember the basics of your routine?”

“Like the back of my hand.” Bucky lied with a laugh, then sat in Steve’s lap as he searched for the song on his phone. Another glance to Andrew who wrapped his leg sensually around the pole. _I can be sensual too_ he thought as the music started. He let go of the tension in his body and began the routine.

First Bucky wrapped his arms around Steve’s and ground his hips downward. Not enough for their hips to connect, but enough to make Steve want more. That’s what Natasha had told him after he confided in her after his first training session.

_“It was a disaster, I can’t believe I fell on him.”_

_“You’re trying too hard. Just do the easy moves and leave the rest to Steve’s imagination. He’s got a wild one.” Bucky just frowned._ _“Yes and keep that brooding face. Steve will find it mysterious.” _

_Natasha ended up with a dishcloth thrown at her face (which she easily dodged)._

Now, he heeded to Natasha’s advice: eye contact, parted lips, confident movements even if you don’t feel confident and if you have to, make it up. And it worked. Steve’s eyes no longer strayed to Andrew. His attention was focused completely on Bucky. He stared at Bucky, soaking in his movements with eyes that would probably need to blink at some point. He spun around and leaned over so that his ass was overtly in Steve face, his own form of downward dog (he thanked Andrew for the idea).

It was at that point, when Bucky sat back down onto Steve’s lap, that he felt it. Bucky tried not to freeze, he tried to keep dancing, but the feeling against his leg, Steve’s boner, was hard (hah) to ignore.

Bucky flipped around again so that he was face to face with Steve. His friend was red-faced and wide-eyed, obviously shocked by his body’s betrayal. Bucky was flattered to say the least. He smiled slightly to let Steve know he felt that way. Who knew Natasha’s advice would work so well?

The eye contact between Bucky and Steve was intense. Unbearably so. Now or never he thought, then leaned in. He let out an internal cheer as he saw Steve reluctantly lean in too, their faces inches apart.

“Hey guys! What do you think of this mo- oh.” He had forgotten Andrew was in the room. Steve apparently had to because he jumped at the sound of Andrew’s voice, dropping Bucky to the floor with a thud.

Training came to an awkward end and Bucky found himself walking out of the studio with Andrew.

“Hey, sorry about interrupting you guys. I know I hate it when people get in the way of me and my boyfriend having an intimate moment.”

“Oh, no me and Steve aren’t-”

“Don’t stress. I’ll give you guys some privacy next time.” Andrew winked. Before Bucky could say anything, a run down truck pulled up in front of the studio, which Andrew promptly hopped into.

_Huh_, Bucky thought. He was starting to like this guy. Especially now that he was no longer a threat.

That night he couldn’t sleep.

Was Steve attracted to him or was he just attracted to what he was doing? Was he imagining things when Steve leaned in to kiss him? Andrew had certainly saw something between Bucky and his friend.

He knew he should just talk to Steve but he didn’t want to. He had fought in a war and endured years of torture but he couldn’t tell his best friend that he loved him. He was pathetic, which is probably what Natasha will tell him when he explains to her what happened.

They were going to need a lot of alcohol.


	5. Chapter 5

“No way,” MJ laughed where he was situated behind the steering wheel.

Andrew couldn’t help the chuckles that escaped, his hands gesticulating wildly. “Yes way! I totally ruined their moment, I swear, they were about this close to kissing,” he pinched his thumb and index finger together. “No wonder Bucky iced me out so hard, he thought I was stealing his man.”

Andrew and MJ both erupted into laughter, Andrew’s retelling of his first day of work sending them into fits of hysterics. His feet were propped up onto the dashboard, one arm loosely thrown out the window. The wind had a bite to it that alerted you to the oncoming winter, but the heater of MJ’s beat-up truck and the boisterous nature of his boyfriend's laugh kept him warm. He was glad MJ was able to pick him up from work, only studying business at college part-time. Their car ride chats were his favourite part of the day.

“How was work for you?” Andrew asked.

MJ turned his eyes off the road to look at him. “Dealing or the pizza shop?” 

“Uhh… both?” Andrew chuckled. Honestly, he was always more interested in MJ's job at the pizza shop than his adventures in dealing weed. It _was_ the reason they met after all.

Being in college had put quite the strain on Andrew financially speaking. He had never had much money in the first place, with uncle Ben being unemployed and aunt May's piddly cash-in-hand grocery store gig, but starting college had left him poorer than ever. Scraping together money from odd jobs, he would buy the cheapest ramen noodle packets he could find. Fantastic Noodles if he had made a little extra money. Andrew would try and make the packet last the week, two weeks if he was especially poor. That was until the day where he'd skipped lunch and dinner, the assignment for one of his classes keeping him preoccupied the whole day. He had been starving and thought that now would be a good time to treat himself.

_“Hey uh, can I please get the five dollar large pepperoni,” Andrew said into his phone. Finding cheap deals was practically his speciality at this point._

_“Sir, did you mean the small pizza for five dollars?”_

_Andrew felt his heart sink, and because he always felt the need to suffer more than he needed to, he asked, “oh. How much is the large?” _

_“Ten dollars," the man on the other line supplied._

_ Andrew’s head dropped harshly onto his desk and he let himself ponder the thoughts of eating the rich. He didn't have ten dollars to spare. “Oh, okay. Could I please get the small pepperoni then?” _

_“Of course,” the man said before asking for his address. Andrew was grateful the worker didn’t ask if he wanted anything else. If he did, he was sure he would’ve burst into tears right then and there. _

_Half an hour later Andrew heard a knock on his door, the distinct hollow thud one of the thousands of reminders of his overwhelming poorness. _

_He opened the door, the instinctual pleasantries already on his tongue. “Hey, how are you…” he trailed off, the sight of the guy causing his brain to buffer._

_ Smooth skin, a buzzcut, the most incredible smile Andrew can recall seeing in his 21 years of life. _Are teeth considered sexy? Who allowed teeth to be this sexy? 

_“Large pepperoni for Andrew," the young delivery boy said, and Andrew attempted to suppress visible shivers from the guys voice alone._

_ “Oh, no. I ordered a small.”_

_The boy grinned, cat-like and boyish at the same time. It caused Andrew's heart to speed up. “I know.” _

_“Whaaa?” Andrew stuttered._

_“I got you covered. That'll be five dollars Andrew.” The man said with a wink. Andrew decided he wanted to hear his name on the lips of this stranger forever. _

_He coughed in an attempt to clear his throat, the warmth of his cheeks beginning to make him hot. “Thanks man, you’re a lifesaver. How can I pay you back?” he said, immediately regretting it. It sounded like he was quoting a cheap porn film. Not that the pizza guy seemed to mind judging by the smirk on his face. _

_“How ‘bout you give me your number and we’ll call it even.” _

_Andrew's heart came to a halt, and he attempted to hide the massive smile that was threatening to break out by running his hand through his hair. He giggled quietly, “oh, yeah-um okay.” Andrew put his number into the pizza guy’s phone, biting the thumb of his free hand. “Sorry, what was your name again?”_

_“My friends call me MJ.” _

_“That’s a nice name." Andrew tried his hand at flirting but felt himself cringe at the weak attempt. “Ah, you seem kind of familiar," he quickly asked to hide his embarrassment._

_“We go to the same college. I’m a business major and you’re… the school’s photographer, right?” MJ asked. Andrew didn’t think people actually read the little byline under his photographs, but here someone was, interested in his art. _

_“Bio-engineering. But uh- yeah, I-uh, I do some photography for the school’s website, yeah.” Andrew scratched at his eyebrow, feeling quietly pleased and flattered MJ had noticed him._

_“Well maybe I can stop by sometime and you can show me your photography and we can…” MJ looked Andrew up and down, an appreciative smile on his face. “Hang out.” _

Now he sat next to the love of his life in their beat up truck, listening to him small talk about his work. Andrew wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Well a large chunk of my clients moved to Australia. Something about the mafia being after them," MJ said. Andrew opened his mouth to question what he was hearing but MJ continued. “Anyway, moral of the story is that I’m not making as much money as before. Kids just don’t smoke weed like they used to. It’s all ketamine this and MDMA that,” MJ scoffed.

“I’m guessing you’re talking about dealing and not the pizza shop.”

MJ took his eyes off the road to send him a pointed look. "Funny," he deadpanned. 

“You love it," Andrew grinned. "Anyway, I think Uncle Ben does ketamine. Maybe you should start selling?”

“No way. If your uncle does it it can’t be any good.”

“True.” Uncle Ben is a menace to society. “So what’re you gonna do?"

MJ's eyes continued to flicker their attention between the road and Andrew's face. “I dunno babes. I need to find new clients before we have to pay rent next.” Andrew didn’t like how MJ contributed the most to their food and apartment. That’s why Andrew applied for the strip club in the first place…

“The club!”

“What?”

Andrew kicked his feet off the dashboard, sitting up abruptly. “The club is where you can get new clients. There’d probably be heaps of people looking to score there.”

“And you think the fake avengers would be cool with that?” MJ's voice sounded sceptical, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

“Wellll…” Andrew’s voice went dangerously high. “They don’t have to know.”

MJ turned his sharp gaze to Andrew, the car stopping at a red light. “You’d risk losing your job for me?”

“Of course I would. I love you,” Andrew said, leaning in to kiss MJ’s cheek.

MJ smiled, soft and fond. "I love you too.”

Andrew pulled away, the light turning green. “And besides," he kicked his shoes back up, propping his hands behind his head, “I’m Spider-Man. They won’t find out.”

MJ rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Andrew smiled and thought, _damn right I am._


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did somebody say new chapter?

Tony breathed in the familiar scent of the club; incense, alcohol and the underlying smell of sweat. The combination should have been nauseating, but to Tony it was a comfort. A comfort that made his nose scrunch up because, honestly, it was pretty gross. He made a mental note to order some scented candles. Scented-anything actually, _damn that’s potent._

It was ‘Thorsday’ at the club, meaning after this shift he would have one more until he had the weekend off. Two more days until Peter would be coming over for the weekend. The thought filled him with anticipation. He couldn't wait to see the look on the kid’s face when Tony showed him the latest modifications he’d come up with for Peter’s suit.

_Ever wanted a gum dispenser in your suit? Me neither, but you’re getting one anyway. _Tony always liked to come up with a script when revealing his inventions to Peter. It always managed to amp up the kid’s excitement. If that was possible.

Two more days until he saw those wide eyes filled with awe. He had been working on being a better role model for Peter. It was working according to Aunt May, his grades going back up (they had been shockingly low after the whole Thanos incident), as well as Peter's new found sense of control. He no longer felt the urge to run head first into danger, the feeling like he was responsible for the safety of the whole of New York replaced by a sense of levelheadedness. He was a normal kid again, trauma aside.

Tony couldn’t let Peter find out about the club.

Not because he was ashamed (he really wasn't), and not because of if Peter found out it would be awkward as Hell (it really would be).

No, the reason Peter couldn’t find out about the club was because of the image Tony strived to maintain in front of Peter. The image of a brave and suave mentor who wasn’t suffering; a mentor who wasn’t stripping in front of a bunch of strangers to deal with the trauma of Thanos, of his parents being killed by Captain America’s not-boyfriend, of almost dying in space (twice), of being kidnapped by terrorists. Wow, he had a lot of trauma. Who knew?

Most of the Avengers took at least two days off each week. Tony had told everyone he had to take the weekends off because that’s when all the staff at Stark Industries had time off, leaving no one to watch over his work. If the Avengers didn't believe him, they didn't say anything. They didn't know he took the weekend off to spend time with Peter and they didn't need to know. Not that they had any idea who Peter actually was, that was a secret Tony prided himself on keeping on the down low. Or ‘lowkey’ as Peter would say.

Steve could pass Peter on the streets and not know he was Spider-Man, the hero he kicked a bus at. Though, if Peter saw Steve on the streets he would instantly recognise him and most likely talk the super soldiers head off. Which was problematic, since Peter had a rather distinct voice that Steve would recognise as Spider-Man’s. Tony really needed to talk to the kid about keeping his mouth shut when in disguise. Voice recognition was one of the reasons the Avengers remained pretty quiet whilst at the club. Though, Thor did like to put on accents every so often. His Australian one was so impressive a media scandal came out that ‘Home and Away’ actor Chris Hemsworth was working at a strip club. Thor was immediately told to stick with the American accent he loved doing.

Now in the club, the Avengers were scattered about: performing, serving, chatting and getting ready for their acts. He saw Bucky pacing behind the bar, gesticulating wildly to an amused Natasha. Customers at the bar stared on with squinted eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Bucky was no doubt speaking in Romanian so only Nat could understand. He did that a lot, especially around Tony, who the soldier was still wary around.

Across the bar, Steve watched on with adoration in his eyes despite not knowing what Bucky was saying; for all Steve knew, Bucky could be insulting him. As Bucky continued to… _rant?_ Tony thought, his words became so fast that they all merged together. Tony couldn’t even recognise the English words thrown into his sentences.

He watched as Steve licked at his lips, and decided that that was his cue to leave, the sudden urge to vomit encompassing him because _seriously? Can Steve keep it in his pants?_

Vision announced the end of Thor’s act earning a disappointed ‘aww’ from his audience, then read out the lineup of performances for the night to get the crowd excited again. "Scarlet Witches illusion dance will be starting in five minutes, then Thor will be back on the poles with our very own Spider-Man and Captain America. Those wanting a lap dance from the Winter Soldier himself, head to the back right corner of the room in ten minutes."

Ah, so that’s what has Bucky all worked up. Tony was surprised Carol was throwing Bucky into lap dancing so soon. Maybe because it was a quiet night and the majority of club goers came for Thor on these nights. The customers would eat him alive if it was a Friday.

Five minutes later, Wanda was up on stage swirling colours and images around her that made the audience cheer. Then it was over before he knew it and the crowd roared when Thor ran back on stage, pumping his fist in the air to the transition music of MC Hammer’s ‘U Can’t Touch This.’ The audience barely registered Steve and Andrew, but when they did the cheers somehow got louder. It was Andrew’s first shift though it wasn't his first time on a pole, nor was it his first time in a Spider-Man suit. He really knew how to work a crowd.

Tony wasn’t performing until later in the night so he sat at the bar and sipped at a fancy cocktail Natasha begrudgingly made for him.

“I gotta say, you look exactly like Tony Stark," a man sitting at the bar next to him spoke.

“It’s all in the beard styling,” Tony replied. The man was staring at his lap intently. It took a moment for Tony to realise. “Hey, hey, hey, no drugs in the club. Take it outside, preferably as far away from here as possible,” Tony said to the man next to him, who was now rolling a joint between his fingers. Natasha raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

“If there's no drugs allowed then why the hell did one of your guys sell it to me?”

Tony turned a sharp gaze on him. “Huh?”

“Whatever dude, I’ll take it outside. You’re lucky this is my favourite club.” Then the man left before Tony could register what happened.

Who sold him the weed? It couldn’t be one of the Avengers like the man claimed. Carol made it clear that they were to keep the reputation of the club clean. They couldn’t risk any slip ups with their identities being at stake.

_Carol would be pissed if she found out,_ Tony thought. _She would also be pissed if I didn’t tell her what happened._

He didn’t want any of his friends to get in trouble but he doubted anyone would do anything that stupid. He wouldn’t put it past Bucky though, he definitely looked like a drug dealer. Or maybe Bruce, didn’t he say smoking helped him stay calm?_ Am I really about to snitch on my friends? _

He thought about Peter finding out about the club, the look of confusion on his face when the media paints the club as a drug invested crime ring. As if Natasha sensed his inner turmoil, she nodded her head in the direction of Carol’s office, then went back to work wiping the bench down.

“Someone’s dealing drugs," Tony said upon entering Carol's office.

Her gaze snapped to him. “What?”

“Drugs. Someone is dealing drugs at the club. Caught a guy rolling a joint at the bar, said it was one of our guys who dealt it to them," Tony said to Carol, who sat behind her desk looking confused.

“This hasn’t been an issue before. Do you think the new guy might have something to do with it?”

Tony rubbed at his face. “Maybe… but he was on stage for most of the night."

Carol sighed and ran her hands through her hair. “I’ll look into it. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. If this continues, I’ll have to call a staff meeting this weekend.”

_Great,_ Tony thought. He’ll have to find an excuse to leave Peter by himself in the tower again. This time it might be harder, since staff meetings were typically held early in the evening before the club opened.

Last time he was called to the club, when Scott was injured, Peter had been half asleep and didn’t question Tony when he snuck off to the club. This time if the meeting was called while he was with an alert Peter, the kid would surely get suspicious. After all, he had told Peter he was taking a break from the whole superhero/SHIELD thing, so he couldn’t use an emergency work call as an excuse. Besides, if Peter thought Tony was going to help some endangered civilians, he’d beg Tony to let him come help.

It seemed that Tony just couldn’t find his way out of trouble; when the problem went away another arose. He was going to need to be smart if he wanted to deal with the many problems threatening his currently peaceful life.

Good thing he was a genius.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky? Steve? Bucky and Steve, our favourite duo? 
> 
> warning for almost smut. I wonder who it could be between.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rumours are true. Motivation has struck. Hopefully more consistent updates but don't get your hopes up.

“Nice show,” Steve said, pulling Bucky out of one of his memories. After Thanos, Bucky’s nightmares had started to appear when he was awake. Memories new and old, of Hydra, of the war, of all the people he killed.

That was until they all started the club. Bucky was able to stay distracted enough to keep the memories at bay, but even super soldiers had their tough days. He was grateful to have Steve at his side right now.

_I’m with you till the end of the line._

Nothing could get in the way of their friendship. Steve would never abandon him. Never.

“You did good tonight.”

“I had a good teacher,” Bucky said. Steve sat next to him on one of the love-seats of the changing rooms. The room was always empty now that each Avenger had their own personal change room.

“How’d you find me?”

“I saw you come in,” Steve said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck at admitting he followed Bucky. Bucky chuckled at Steve’s embarrassment, and a comfortable silence fell over the room.

The noise of the club was now just an afterthought in the presence of Steve. The neon lights of the dance floor washed out the room in a purple, blue and pink hue where they shone through the one way mirror. The intense colours made Bucky feel oddly heated, the only thing he could pay attention to being the soft inhale and exhale of Steve’s breaths.

Bucky stared into Steve’s eyes and Steve stared back. The tension in the air was almost visible. Bucky felt heat pool deep within him and decided it was now or never to give into his urges. He slammed his mouth onto Steve’s.

At first Steve hesitated against Bucky’s lips, but it was mere seconds before he reciprocated the intensity of the kiss.

It was like Bucky had no control over his body. One minute he was only kissing Steve and the next he was on the man’s lap grinding down. He was all too aware of the heaviness of his own breath, the desperateness of his actions. Bucky stifled a moan against Steve’s shoulder when he felt a hand slip under his shirt. The warmth of Steve’s hand trailing up his bare skin sent a shiver down his spine. Bucky’s mouth moved from Steve’s shoulder to his neck, sucking gently. Steve let out a deep moan that almost made Bucky cum right then and there.

When he felt Steve’s hand reach for the button of his unbearably tight jeans, he became all too aware of where they were; all too aware that he was giving into his lust. He suddenly felt a lack of control.

“Wait.”

Steve immediately froze. “Am I going too quickly?”

“No! its just… someone could walk in,” Bucky mumbled against Steve’s shoulder, not wanting to look in his eyes. The realisation seemed to dawn on Steve's face.

“Guess I got too caught up in the moment,” Steve said, hand ghosting over his neck in habit. “I owe you an apology.”

“No, I- I got caught up too. Forgot where we were.” Bucky clambered out of Steve’s lap and sat back in his original spot. He never thought he would be wishing for Andrew to interrupt them again, but here he was. “I guess…”

“Yeah, maybe we should…”

“Yeah… I’ll see you at training.” Bucky jumped up from his seat and finally looked at Steve. His pupils were large, and a flush that made Bucky want to jump right back on his lap was scattered across his cheeks. Bucky didn’t know what to do with his hands so he settled for a salute, which he immediately regretted, and then rushed out the door. He caught a glimpse of Steve’s wide smile as he shut the door.

Bucky made his way to the bar where Natasha was watching him with an arched brow. She pushed a glass of ice water in front of him. “You look hot.”

“Thanks,” he took a sip, appreciating the coldness. 

“No, you look physically hot. Your face is red,” Natasha said. Bucky groaned and threw his head against his arms on the bar. “What happened? You and Steve just kiss?”

Bucky's head shot up from it’s place on the bar. “What? How do you know?” 

“Because Steve just walked out looking… ravished.” Natasha was all too amused by his suffering. 

Bucky glared at her. “I may have ruined our friendship with that kiss.”

“It’s not that world shattering for friends to kiss,” she reasoned.

“I ended up in his lap.”

“Oh,” Natasha said, causing Bucky to groan. She quickly attempted to backtrack. “Look, it’s not like you haven’t been in his lap before.”

“That was different.”

“Didn't you tell me Steve got a b-”

“Okay so maybe it’s not that different,” Bucky said, quickly interrupting Natasha in case someone was listening.

“Is this what all of this is about? You’re scared things are going to change between you and Steve?”

“No…” Natasha sends him a pointed look. Bucky sighed, “okay, maybe.”

Natasha laid both her palms on the bar, as if she was delivering important intel at a S.H.I.E.L.D conference. “Nothing can ruin the friendship you two have. If anything, the sex will make it better. You’ll learn things about each other, or so I’ve heard.” 

Bucky's face scrunches. “And where have you heard that?”

“The new guy. He won’t shut up about his boyfriend. They’re so cute, it almost makes me sick.”

Bucky rubs his neck in thought. “Huh. He does seem really happy, doesn't he.”

“Like what you want to be?” Natasha said, prompting him to consider. Bucky had been through so much in his life, maybe it was time to finally take control and find happiness.

“There’s something else, though,” Bucky wrung his hands. Natasha looked at them, with her laser focused eyes, and realised. _He's nervous._

“What is it?” Her gaze was on Bucky and Bucky only. It was the kind of gaze that made him almost overwhelmed by the attention he was given; by the feeling of unshakeable trust he had for her, that filled him up and made him feel like 'fear' and 'doubt' were just words. _I trust her. I trust her more than anything._

“When I was in the other room with Steve… I got scared…” he admitted. Natasha waited patiently for him to continue. She quietly grabbed his empty glass to refill. “It felt like I had no control over myself. Like all my decisions weren’t my own, like they were Steve’s or Hydra’s. I don’t know, Tash. It’s weird.”

“It’s trauma,” she said, and placed the now full glass in front of him again. Bucky took a large gulp of water so he had something to do with his hands. “Have you tried dominating him?”

Bucky choked. He coughed into his fist at the sudden shift in atmosphere. _Why did I trust her again?_

She continued, “that, or you could set the scene a bit. Light some candles, take him out for dinner, have sex in your room, you know? Things that will make you feel a bit more in control.” Bucky's face had turned red, a combined effort from the choking and Natasha's bold words. When he felt himself calm down, though, what she was saying actually made some sense. In a way. In a very abrupt and crude Natasha way.

Natasha could see the gears turning in Bucky's head, and felt her work here had been done. She threw the rag flung over her shoulder at Bucky, hitting him in the face. “Here, you're still sweaty. I know Steve's hot, but he's not that hot,” she smirked.

“Oh, screw you.”

Natasha's laughter filled the emptying club, and Bucky felt himself almost excited by his newly acquired advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any requests for who the next chapter should be about?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Ned get wild. As per tradition, I have not re-read this chapter. It won't be a few days until this chapter is edited so have fun with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Our good friend weed has made another appearance in this chapter.

“I have a proposition,” Ned said to Peter. They were laid out on Peter’s queen sized bed, surrounded by the snacks they had raided from Tony’s cupboard.

“I don’t think I can eat anything else Ned.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Ned sat up, suddenly serious. “It’s our last year of high school and I think we should do something rebellious.”

“It’s not rebellious if you call it that,” Peter deadpanned. He threw one of their balled up candy wrappers in the bin, fist pumping when it landed in. “What do you have in mind anyway? And please don’t say another one of Flash’s parties,” he groaned. He was just about in a food coma.

Ned hesitated, suddenly tense. Like the time he didn’t want to tell Peter he watched the new season of Doctor Who without him. It must be bad. Or embarrassing. Peter couldn’t tell what Ned was thinking, so he lay his head in Ned’s lap and gave him the best ‘I won’t get mad’ smile he could muster.

“Ithinkweshouldsmoke.”

“Huh?”

“I said I think we should try weed.”

“What?!” Peter sat up so fast his head banged Ned’s nose. He processed Ned’s words. “Are you being serious?”

Peter had to be sure. He couldn’t outright say ‘hell yeah, let’s smoke weed’ at the risk of getting judged for it later when Ned said he was just joking.

“Yeah, I mean. I just want to try it once. And my cousin knows a guy that can get us some safe stuff, you know. Weed that isn’t tainted.”

“T-tainted?” Peter asked, trying to hold in his laughs.

“Tainted weed is a real thing Peter. People die from it.”

“Okay, okay,” Peter put his hands up innocently. He then realised that snitch FRIDAY could be listening. “When should we do it?” he whispered.

“How ‘bout tomorrow. The dealer will meet us at my cousin’s house where we can smoke it, wait a few hours, then go back to Mr Stark’s like nothing happened.”

Peter nodded, wringing his hands together. “What about the, you know… side effects.”

“That only happens in the movies, Peter,” Ned said exasperatedly. He picked up a lone peanut butter cup and piffed it at Peter's head, laughing. The food war that ensued could only be blamed on the two teenage boys, but they would still say it was an accident when Tony asked about it later.

With the plan in motion, Peter and Ned excitedly went about their day.

“Why do you two look so suspicious?” Tony said. “Do I need to call my lawyer?”

“What? No! We are not suspicious at all.”

Tony assessed the two, his head turned up. “FRIDAY, did Peter’s heart rate change at all during this conversation?”

“Both Peter and Ned’s heart rates spiked significantly during this conversation,” FRIDAY chimed in.

“Snitch.” Peter and Ned turned to each other. “Jinx,” they synchronised again. They were too busy laughing, they didn’t notice Tony rolling his eyes and muttering ‘kids’.

“Righhht, well. What do you kids want for dinner then? Pizza or Chinese?”

“Pizza,” Ned said.

“Chinese,” Peter said.

Tony held back from clicking his tongue. He folded his arms. “Uh huh. Can you both do that, uh, creepy synchronisation thing again? You know, so I don’t have to order from two places?” He stayed silent, waiting for Ned to back down and choose Chinese. He didn’t. “Indian it is.” Tony said and walked out the door before Peter or Ned could protest.

-

Peter’s knee jumped up and down as he watched the clock on Ned’s cousin’s wall.  
“He’s late.”  
“Dealers don’t follow the normal conventions of time Peter. It's a fact.” Ned said. The doorbell rang and they rushed to the door.

“Sorry I’m late.” The dealer said. Peter turned to Ned with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged.  
‘Thank you for delivering the marijuana sir.’ Peter said. The dealer, who was unfairly attractive, laughed.  
“First timers? How old are you’s anyway?”  
“Yes.” They both said, purposefully ignoring the second question. Peter restrained himself from shouting ‘jinx’ and revealing their age to the dealer.  
“Well. Here you go. I can show you guys how to smoke it if you want?” Peter exhaled in relief. There was no way they were going to be able to smoke by themselves.

“Ok so what’s the number one rule?”  
“Don’t exhale.” Peter said as quick as he would answer a question in the decathlon. They were seated in the backyard in front of a shed Ned’s cousin refused to fix. The dealer, who the found out was named MJ, ran them through the basics of smoking. Peter had only known MJ for less than ten minutes but he would already die for him. The man was funny and worldly, making Peter wonder if all pizza guys were this cool and that maybe he should consider a path in the pizza industry. The fact that MJ had the same name as his crush had nothing to do with his infatuation with the man. Though it did help the man’s case.

“Alright who wants to go first?” Peter and Ned looked at each other. Great, Peter thought, Ned looked like he was ready to back out.  
“I’ll go.” Peter said, giving Ned what he hoped to be an encouraging thumbs up. MJ lit the joint and passed it to Peter. He hesitated when he felt his spider senses activate- wait, no. That was just excitement. Or fear. It was hard to tell but he didn’t dwell on it. He brought the joint to his lips and sucked in the smoke. He held the smoke in his lungs and internally celebrated when he inhaled without coughing. Ned watched him with wide eyes and finally decided to smoke the joint as well. MJ watched them, chuckling as he smoked his own joint. They sat chatting as they waited for weed to take full effect. That was, until MJ’s phone went off. Ned jumped while Peter barely registered the loud ring.  
“I gotta go guys. Look after each other, yeah?”

“What time is it?” Peter asked Ned when MJ had left. He was disappointed that he wasn’t seeing any cool hallucinations like in the movies. The most he felt was calm, loose and a little bi giggly.  
“Four thirty!” Ned exclaimed, scrabbling to stand up. “We promised we’d meet Mr Stark half an hour ago.” Peter just laughed.  
“It’s fine.”  
“It’s not fine Peter! He’s going to know.”  
“How?” Peter laughed again. He’d never seen Ned so worked up over nothing.  
“He’s going to smell it on us.”  
“Well… Um.”  
“Yes?”  
“Oh yeah. I brought deodorant.” Peter said, digging through his bag to find the Axe deodorant he used to use when he was twelve but now only used in emergencies. He handed it to Ned firs who just about sprayed the whole bottle on himself. Ned threw the bottle back at Peter who caught it… With his face.  
“Huh, guess the marijuana’s messing with my reflexes.” He said then sprayed a small amount of deodorant on himself.

“You kids need a lift home?” Ned’s cousin said from behind the houses back wire door. They said yes and Peter sent an “omw” text to Tony so Ned would calm down. Ned twitched the whole ride over while Peter sat and let Ned’s words wash over him without actually knowing what he was saying.  
“Nice.” Peter said out of nowhere and laughed when Ned just looked at him.

They got out of the car and Ned turned to him.  
“Are my eyes red?”  
“Nah.” Peter wasn’t lying. They were slightly more pink than usual but nothing obvious. “How about mine?” Ned opened his mouth to reply, cringed, than just said something along the lines of “uhhh”. Which was good enough for Peter. They walked in.

“Hey FRIDAY, can you tell Mr Stark we’re back?”  
“I’m literally right here.”  
“Oh hey Mr Stark.” Peter said. “We’re back.”  
“I can see that. Why do you both smell like a middle school locker room?”  
“We are so sorry Mr Stark. We lost track of time.” Ned said frantically. Peter laughed and Tony stared.  
“I’m hungry.” Peter said, a giggle bubbling in his throat. He walked towards the elevator and waited.  
“Peter?”  
“Yeah?”  
“You wanna… Click the button?”  
“Oh yeah.” Peter laughed and clicked the elevator’s button.  
“Peter?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Turn around for me.” Tony said and Peter turned. “How high are you right now?”  
“HAHA Mr Stark. You’re so funny. Isn’t he so funny Peter?” Peter didn’t answer, unsure if he should play along with Ned’s poor attempts at denial. Mr Stark could be joking. That meant it would be a disaster if Peter agreed to being high. Peter decided to play his right to remain silent-card. Wow, being high made him really smart.  
“Answer me Peter.”  
“Yes.” Shit. Mr Stark had to go and put his authoritative voice on and make Peter confess. Tony sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
“I have so many questions on how weed affects your abilities but I have to be a responsible guardian so… Get changed you stink. Ned what time are your parents picking you up?” Ned was staring at his phone with wide eyes.  
“They’re here now.”  
“I swear you two are making me lose hair. Are you ok to go home or do you want to stay?”  
“I should be ok, I didn’t have as much as Peter.” Ned said, ignoring the look of betrayal Peter shot him. “Bye Mr Stark, I’m so sorry about all this. Bye Peter.”

Great Peter thought. With Ned gone he was going to be the only one getting into trouble. Though, he was a lot more calm at the prospect of disappointing Mr Stark then he usually would be.  
“Can you manage a shower?” Peter nodded and walked off, not before hearing Mr Stark tell FRIDAY to “make sure Peter doesn’t trip and break his neck.”

In the shower Peter became hyper aware of everything; his breathing, the water against his skin, the way too bright lighting, the fact he forgot to take off his socks (which he laughed about for the whole shower).  
“You ok in there Peter?”  
“Yeah I’ll be out in a second.”  
Peter hurried out of the shower and into his room. Riffling through the clothes he kept at Stark Tower, he found a jumper and trackies. He wondered if he should dress up more for when Mr Stark inevitably yelled at him but decided against it. Being yelled is uncomfortable enough without the addition of jeans.

Peter shuffled to the living room where Tony sat waiting on the couch. He watched Peter cautiously and gestured for Peter to sit.  
‘I’m not going to yell at you. I’d be a hypocrite if I did.’ Tony sighed, leaning back on the couch. Peter drew his knees to his chest. ‘But you’re going to have to tell your aunt what happened.’  
‘Ok… I’m sorry Mr Stark.’  
‘You’re a kid. You’re going to do this sort of stuff. Just be safe ok? Nothing stronger than weed.’  
‘Never.’  
‘Alright then. Drink this.’ Tony said handing him a glass of water. ‘You hungry yet?’  
‘Starving. Can we get pizza? I met this really cool pizza guy today.’  
‘Right… You find something for us to watch while I order pizza.’ Tony walked off to order the pizza and Peter scrolled through Netflix deciding on New Moon because they had already watched the first twilight together.  
Peter waited for Tony with a smile on his face. The man definitely had some flaws when it came to being a guardian to Peter, but he tried his hardest and never made Peter doubt that he cared for him.  
‘New Moon? Nice.’ Tony said as he entered the room with a blanket. He sat down on the couch next to Peter.  
‘Mr Stark?’  
‘Yeah?’  
‘Thanks.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter will be out when we write it. Could be a few days, could be a week, could be never. Feel free to request a anything you want to see.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moment you've all been waiting for... It's pure smut time (with a dash of emotional baggage). Steve just wants to talk but Bucky has other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Smut
> 
> You know the drill. This will be edited later so beware of mistakes.

Bucky rushed from one end of his apartment to the other, picking up any piece of rubbish he could find. His apartment looked like it had been raided. Multiple times. By hydra.  
This would would be fine, if it wasn’t for the fact Steve would be driving in ten minutes. Bucky was trying his hardest to avoid Steve (until he worked his feelings out), but when his friend was making it very hard to do so when he sent a “can we talk?” Text, followed by a “I’ll be there at eight” text. There was not enough time to clean the hell hole of his apartment.  
After his lounge room was sufficiently cleaned he moved on to his bedroom. Just in case. Yikes he thought when his entered his room to see the multiple Uber bags he left on his bed. He rushed up to his bed but before he could grab the bags, the doorbell rang. Fuck.  


“Steve. Hi.”  


“Good to see you Buck.” Bucky looked for signs that Steve was disgusted with the state of his apartment. Either Steve was really good at hiding his emotions or Bucky’s apartment wasn’t as messy as he thought. After all, they’d slept in trenches before.

“You want some food? I can order some Ubereats?”  


“I was hoping we could just talk.” Steve said, taking his spot on Bucky’s couch.  


“Is this about the other night?” Bucky didn’t want to have this conversation. He already knew what his problems with intimacy were and he was not about to admit them to Steve.  


“Yeah, you left pretty quickly. Did I make you uncomfortable?” Steve looked awkward and Bucky felt awkward. Bucky was never good at talking about his feelings. He didn’t think he could tell Steve how he felt, but definitely showed him. Take control Tash had told him. He could do that. Bucky slid onto his knees in front of Steve’s lap.  


“Do I look like a man who’s uncomfortable?”  


“Bucky-I. Woah ok. Is this really happening?”  


“Do you want me to stop?” Steve stared dumbfounded, then shook his head. No.

Bucky kept eye contact as he slowly unzipped Steve’s pants. He would have undid the pants using his teeth but twenty-first century clothing came with too many complications and it would probably wreck the mood if the zipper got stuck.

Steve lifted his hips in a trance as Bucky slid his pants off.  


“We should be talking about what happened." Steve said but his protests turned into a moan when Bucky’s dragged his hand down his clothed cock.  


“We shouldn’t be avoiding this conversation.” Steve breathed.  


“Shhh we can talk later. Take off your shirt” He’d make sure they didn’t, in fact, ‘talk about it’. While Steve unbuttoned his shirt Bucky leaned up to kiss him. He slid his tongue across Steve’s bottom lip in a silent question. Steve opened his mouth and Bucky’s tongue entered Steve’s mouth. After a while Bucky pulled away to catch his breath. Steve chuckled then kissed Bucky’s jaw, trailing down until he reached the bottom of Bucky’s neck. He hummed and closed his eyes. Bucky brought his hand back down to dip his hand beneath the waistband of Steve’s underwear. When he gripped Steve’s cock, he bit down on Bucky’s neck. Bucky smirked.  


“I thought you were smaller.” His smile widened when he felt Steve laughing against his neck.

“Did you just?” Bucky laughed in response.

He dragged his thumb against the head of Steve’s cock, causing him to elicit a low moan. Bucky’s knees went weak at the sound. Hungry to hear those sounds again, he slid back onto his knees. He pulled his cock out from his underwear. Steve’s head fell back against the couch and sighed. Bucky could get used to this sight. Before he began pleasuring Steve he paused.  


“Don’t stop.”  


“Just a second.” Bucky said. He pulled off the hair tie around his wrist and tied his hair into a bun, shooting Steve a wink.

It had been a while since he’d given a blowjob. He used to be a bit of a player in the 40’s he’d take home both men and women alike. But with all he’s been through, there hasn’t been much time to go out to a bar and take someone home. But here Steve was, offering him love commitment. He didn’t know if he could do commitment. He could give a mean blowjob. 

To ease himself into it, Bucky dragged his tongue from the base of Steve’s cock to the head.  


“Jesus Buck.”  
He put his lips to the head of Steve’s cock and looked up to see Steve watching him with heavy eyes. Bucky grinned. He still had it. Without warning Steve, Bucky put the length of his cock into his mouth. He stopped when it hit the back of his throat. He gripped the base of Steve’s cock with his hand. He set a steady pace of bobbing up and down. Bucky moaned. This was more like it. Bucky had control over the situation. Tash was right, he didn’t need to talk about his feelings, he just needed to dominate Steve. And though many people would see Bucky on his knees as a submissive position, the way he was making Steve come undone over his touch made Bucky think otherwise. Steve was spread out before him, a panting mess, while Bucky was still fully clothed. This was the most control he had had over his life in a long time and he was enjoying every minute of it. Steve let out another low moan, his hand gripped tightly in his hair. It should have hurt but he was used to pain, and Steve hurting him was somehow exciting.  


“Bedroom.” Bucky said, taking his mouth off Steve. “Now.”

They fumbled to Bucky’s room still kissing each other. Steve pushed Bucky back onto the bed and a crunching sound filled his ears. He forgot about the Ubereats bags. Tossing the bags aside, Bucky dragged Steve down into another kiss. He flipped Steve so that he was the one on his back.  


“Bucky I’ve never really had sex...” Shit. Bucky got ready to run out of the room. “with a guy before.” Oh thank god. Steve wasn’t a virgin. Bucky didn’t think he could handle the responsibility of taking Steve’s virginity. IHe must have had sex with that woman. What was her name again? He pushed the thought aside, instead focusing on the beautiful sight of Steve beneath him.  


“Don’t worry.” Bucky said “We won’t do anything too intense. Unless you want to?”  


“Maybe we could just start slow?”  


“That’s more than fine by me.” Bucky said. He kissed a trail down Steve’s stomach, stopping at Steve’s hipbone where he sucked lightly. Steve lifted his hips up and moaned. Bucky went back to giving Steve a blowjob. He bobbed his head up and down Steve’s length while his hand thrusted up and down at the same time. He flicked his tongue against the head of Steve’s cock every so often just to hear Steve yell out.  


“Fuck!”  


“Language.” Bucky stopped to say, grinning when Steve groaned.

Bucky’s free hand slipped beneath the waistband of his own underwear. He was glad he decided to wear trackies. Despite the sight of Steve being enough to tip him over the edge, touching himself definitely helped. It felt good. The combined sensations of his hand dragging up and down his cock, the deathgrip Steve had in his hair, the heavy, almost choking, fullness of Steve in his mouth. 

When Steve’s moans got louder and Bucky felt him begin to tense up beneath him, Bucky increased the pace. With a final flick of Bucky’s tongue, Steve tensed and came in his mouth with only a shout as a warning. Steve shuddered then his whole body relaxed. Bucky swallowed and flopped down next to Steve.

Steve’s eyes drifted to Bucky’s still hard cock. His hand reached out but Bucky stopped him.  


“It’s fine.” Bucky said. “Just kiss my neck.” Steve obliged. Sucking softly on his neck while Bucky stroked himself. With his free hand, Bucky guided Steve’s hand up into his hair.  
“Pull,” Bucky commanded. Steve hesitated, telling Bucky he had been gripping his hair subconsciously earlier. “Harder. You won’t hurt me.” Steve pulled hard and Bucky moaned. He could feel himself getting closer. Steve sucked his neck hard and pulled his hair painfully while Bucky stroked himself off. Bucky came with a shout.

They both lay in silence for a while, both tired from their exertions.  


“That was… Wow.”  


“I’m pretty good like that,” Bucky joked.  


“Can we talk now?”  


“Nope.” Bucky planted a peck on Steve’s cheek. “Goodnight.” Steve looked like he was going to protest, but gave in with a low chuckle.  


“Night Bucky.”

Bucky woke feeling warm and comfortable. He opened to see Steve had his arms wrapped tightly around him. It felt good but he didn’t want to get too comfortable. They were friends not boyfriends. And sometimes friends did stuff that was beneficial to both of them. Not in a ‘friends with benefits’ way. More like a, a… To be honest Bucky didn’t know what this was. With every interaction he had with Steve things got more and more confusing. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? Maybe he really wan’t as in control as he thought. 

Steve roused, giving him a sleepy grin.  


“Morning.”  
The mess of Steve’s hair made Bucky want to run his hand through it. His smile made Bucky want to kiss him even if he probably had morning breath. Bucky knew he could wake up to that sloppy grin for the rest of his life. They could wake up together, shower together, go on morning runs together. They could make love all night, every night. Exploring eachothers bodies. Did he really just refer to ‘fucking’ as ‘making love’? Did he really just imagine a domestic life with Steve after one blowjob... Fuck.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The arrival of a new guest leaves Thor feeling ecstatic and Tony feeling like he's aged twenty years.

Tony liked to think he was good at reading people. He could tell when Pepper was mad at him just by the quirk of an eyebrow, or that Peter was hiding something from him when his rambling got just a bit excessive. Admittedly, when Steve and Bucky walked into the club on a Friday night, Tony couldn't even begin to wager what the two were thinking. Steve walked in with his head held high, a bounce in his step and a glow about him. He shot what he probably thought were subtle glances at Bucky. Tony would have guessed they finally sorted their feelings for each other out if it wasn’t for the stressed out energy Bucky was giving off. His shoulders were hunched, eyebrows furrowed and he looked everywhere but Steve.

“They are a strange couple indeed,” Thor said as he took a tentative sip of his beer, shrugged, then chugged the whole thing down. Tony glanced at Thor and wondered how he managed to sit next to Tony at the bar without him noticing. Thor wasn’t exactly the most subtle of people.

“I’m not so sure they are a couple yet.”

“What makes you say that,” Natasha asked, startling Tony into knocking his own drink. Natasha wordlessly dropped a cloth in front of him to clean up the spill.

“Steve’s definitely the perfect picture for the front page of hopelessly in love. Bucky over there looks like he’s ready to run away to Bucharest... again.”

“Guess he didn’t take my advice.”

“Which was?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Natasha, said turning back to preparing everything for her shift. Without turning back she called “Last chance to get a drink before we open.”

“Midgardians and their romance.” Thor sighed, swivelling around in his seat so he could lean over the bar and refill his drink using the tap. When Natasha didn’t tell Thor off, Tony turned in his seat to do the same. “In Asgard we just fuck.” Tony raised an eyebrow and Thor chuckled.

“I’m joking, my friend.”

“Speak for yourself.” A familiar, yet raspy voice said from behind them. Tony felt his stomach drop. That voice. Tony stared straight ahead, which really meant staring at Natasha. She stood frozen for a few moments before she snapped into action. Natasha pulled the gun she kept under the bar and aimed it behind him. Tony took the opportunity to collect himself, breathing deeply before putting on a mask of indifference and turned around.

‘Loki,’ Thor said, voice unsteady with disbelief. He had told Tony his brother was dead. He had told Tony that Thanos had snapped his brother’s neck for trying to save the Asgardian refugees. Tony hadn’t believed Thor. He hadn’t believed Loki was capable of doing good. But the sight of tired eyes and long black hair that made the neck-brace Loki wore stand out, was hard to ignore.

“Hello brother.”

There was a shocked silence around the bar. As if no one knew if they should be attacking Loki or interrogating him. The club still had half an hour before it would be open and it was Andrew’s day off, thank God for small miracles. Surprisingly, the one person to break the silence was Bruce.

“Loki!” Bruce shouted rushing forward and embracing Loki in a hug that the other man hesitantly reciprocated. “You’re alive. How are you alive?”

“The Grandmaster.” Tony couldn’t see how that was even remotely an answer but it seemed to satisfy both Bruce and Thor.

“It’s a good thing you got into his favour. Even if you betrayed him.”

“Thank you Thor. I’m well aware of that.” 

“Is he here now?” Bruce said, releasing Loki from his death grip. “On Earth I mean?”

“He’s off immersing himself in Midgardian culture. If all goes to plan, we won’t be seeing him again.” Loki made himself at home on one of the club’s couches. A martini materialised in Loki’s hand and he slouched backwards, taking a sip. Even with a neck brace, Loki looked untouchable.

“Not that this isn’t a beautiful reunion,” Tony said, gesturing to Loki and Thor with a calm gesture that he wasn’t feeling. “But what are you doing here?”

“Can’t a God visit his brother without having an ulterior motive?”

“Not with you, no.” 

“Oh how I haven’t missed our banter, Stark.” Loki vanished his drink with a twirl of his wrist and smirked. “Very well, I want to join your little club.”

Tony couldn’t say he was expecting that. He breathed out a laugh and when he saw Loki was serious, he sighed and rubbed his face. “Why?”

“I’m attractive, sexually ambiguous and slightly traumatised. Those are the prerequisites for joining this club. Or was I mistaken?” 

“No–”

“Yes!” Thor said as if it had only now occurred to him why they had made this club in the first place. 

At that moment Carol walked in.

“Twenty minutes til opening. What is everyone doing standing…” Carol paused when her eyes landed on Loki, “around? Who’s this?” She asked no one in particular.

“My brother.”

“Your… Dead brother?”

“Yes, that one. You see, it turns out he isn’t dead. And he would like to join the club.” Thor said jumping up and patting Loki on the shoulder. Loki looked at Thor’s hand, grimaced, but said nothing as he rose to greet Carol.

“It is true. I’m a smart worker and I’m particularly well versed in getting money from people who did not intend to give their money away.” Loki said coolly. Carol seemed to consider this. Her eyes scanned the room, registering the tension of the Avengers and the excitement of Thor and Bruce.

“I guess you could take over from Bucky’s lap dancing so he could return to the bar…” She scratched her chin and looked at Loki, who visibly cringed, and then Bucky whose head frantically switched between looking at Carol, Loki and Steve. “Or maybe you could bar-tend. Ever poured a drink before?”

“Many,” Loki said, looking reverting back to his insouciant self.

“Well it’s settled. We’ll do a trial shift tomorrow. Natasha will train you.” Carol said, then sauntered back to her office without even commenting on the fact that Natasha still had her gun intently pointed at Loki. Tony sighed when Loki winked at Natasha and promptly vanished. He had the niggling suspicion that the tension between Natasha and Loki was going to be ten times worse than the tension between Steve and Bucky.


	11. Chapter 11

When Andrew walked into the club on Tuesday, he didn’t expect to see a doppelganger of the guy who had attacked New York in 2012. He also didn’t expect to see the doppelganger standing behind the bar with Natasha whose distaste was almost tangible. 

Andrew decided he’d seen weirder things in his lifetime and strolled into the backroom.

“Hey,” Andrew said to Steve who sat on one of the couches, typing on his phone with one finger. “The new guy, uh… Is he supposed to be..?”

“Loki?” Steve said, looking up.

“Yeah that’s it. Loki… What’s he doing here?”

“Carol’s letting him have a trial shift.”

“She’s letting a Loki doppelganger serve drinks? To people? Isn’t that a little, I don’t know, insensitive?” Andrew slumped down next to Steve who shrugged as if he didn’t see a problem with it. Andrew let it go. The guests at the club had strange tastes that probably wouldn’t exclude a guy pretending to be the guy who terrorised New York.

“It was either that or he was going to switch jobs with Bucky.” 

“Which would mean you wouldn’t be able to train Bucky anymore.” Andrew bit his thumb to hide his smile, but Steve seemed to pick up his suggestive tone and blushed. Andrew wasn’t a stranger to romance, nor was he a stranger to love. He knew for a fact Steve was in love with Bucky, if only he’d admit it.

“I– it’s complicated.” Steve hunched over so that his elbows rested on his thighs and his hands covered his face. Andrew hadn’t always been good at dealing with emotions, or showing affection. He used to be scared of it, just like Bucky he suspected. For so long Andrew had been emotionally unavailable, and a little touch-starved. With all his failed relationships, romantic and familial, he didn’t think he deserved love. Until he met Mj. He thought of his boyfriend’s straight teeth smile, his strong arms would sweep Andrew off his feet or wrap tightly around him when Andrew woke from a nightmare. He thought of Mj’s deep brown eyes that stared intently at Andrew like he really cared about what he was rambling about, he thought of Mj’s long lashes that would pepper him with butterfly kisses when they lay in their mattress that didn’t have a bed frame. Andrew’s chest swelled with affection. He wanted Steve to have the same feelings. He wanted Steve to receive the same kind of love and appreciation he received from Mj everyday.

“Have you told Bucky how you feel?”

“It’s not like he gives me the chance,” Steve muttered. When Andrew stared at him with furrowed eyebrows Steve explained. “I tried to talk to him but he distracted me… With uh…”

“Sex?” Andrew asked. Steve opened his mouth to protest but closed it with a sigh and nodded.

“I always thought our first time would be,” Steve sighed again and his hands fell back into his hands. Andrew hesitated but brought his hand to Steve’s back and rubbed it.

“You thought it would help confirm your feelings to Bucky. You thought it would be romantic or at least have some emotional connection.” Andrew was just guessing, drawing on his own experiences, but when Steve let out a self deprecating groan he knew he had hit the nail on the head.

“How did you know?”

“I,yeah, I think that’s what Mj wanted for our first time. I guess I was kinda like Bucky.” Steve’s eyes widened in surprise, a silent question of ‘really?’ Andrew smiled at Steve. “Just give him time. He clearly feels something for you, so keep showing him you feel the same way.”

Steve nodded. Their relationship would take time but it would be worth it. Steve and Bucky would eventually need to discuss their feelings and Andrew would help them through it if need be. Maybe they could all chill out with blunt, God knew they both needed one.

“Thanks Andrew.”

“No problem. I’ll see you out there.” Andrew said, heading back to the main room.

There was still ten minutes until opening, Andrew quickly got into his Spider-Man suit then went over to the bar to meet the new guy. The man behind the bar was dressed in a strange black and teal leather get-up, black waves slightly slicked back. He didn’t look exactly like the spiky haired Loki who had attacked New York, but Andrew gave the guy points for trying.

“Hey I’m Andrew, nice to meet you.” Andrew said leaning over the bar to hold out his hand in greeting. The man stared at his hand for a moment then shook it with a surprisingly firm grip.

“I’m Loki.”

“Already in character? Nice.” Andrew said. Loki’s eyes furrowed and when he opened his mouth, Natasha cut in. 

“Five minutes til opening. Did you want a drink?”

“Nah I’m good I think I’ll go practise my routine.” Andrew hopped off the bar and walked to one of the stages. He didn’t miss the way Natasha dragged Loki in, whispering furiously in his ear. Loki looked up and met Andrew’s eyes, a smirk sliding onto his face.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve felt like a weight had lifted from his chest after his conversation with Andrew. He felt like someone actually understood what he was going through. Steve had seen Andrew and his boyfriend together, they were the perfect couple, a healthy relationship. And yet, Andrew had admitted it hadn’t always been perfect, giving Steve hope. He could make this relationship work with Bucky, they could have a relationship that maybe wasn’t perfect, but was still full of love. If loving Bucky meant waiting for him to open up, Steve would wait for as long as he had to.

“Daydreaming of kissing your best friend?” Loki said from behind the bar. Steve looked up to see Loki watching him with a knowing smirk. “I’m glad to see humans still don’t have an ounce of self preservation.”

“Ignore him. Everyone else does,” Natasha said as she slid a tequila shot to a confused looking customer. Loki just shrugged. Thor’s brother was fitting into the role of bartender a little too well, resulting in Carol's immediate hiring of him after one training shift. Much to Natasha’s displeasure. 

Around the club, lights flashed in an array of cool colours. The music had faded out in a series of rhythmic booms as Andrew finished the last spins of his routine on stage. Thor’s routine was up next, though he didn’t seem to notice; instead, Thor stood at a booth gesturing enthusiastically to a blonde girl standing next to him. He seemed to be introducing the girl to another smiling girl sitting in the booth. Thor was the club’s self-appointed ‘wing-man’ and took the job very seriously. 

“And yet he can’t maintain a relationship of his own,” Loki said as if reading Steve’s thoughts. “He really is pathetic sometimes.” There was a fondness in Loki’s voice, as if Thor was just a dog chasing its own tail.

The blonde girl sat down in the booth and kissed the other girl’s cheek in greeting. Thor turned and caught Steve’s eyes. He grinned and sent Steve a double thumbs up before hopping onto the stage. While this was happening, Andrew was jumping off the stage. He ripped off his mask and jogged over to the bar. Steve nodded at him, silently acknowledging their earlier conversation as well as Andrew’s performance.

“Nice show,” Loki said as he handed Andrew a glass of water. Steve shifted in his seat. He found it strange how quickly Loki and Andrew had become friends. Steve put it down to the fact that Andrew didn’t actually think Loki was the ‘real Loki’.

“Thanks buddy,” Andrew said before gulping down his water, ice cubes clinking to the side of the glass. Andrew looked down then pulled his phone out from somewhere in his costume and put it to his ear. “Hey MJ, what’s up?”

Steve wasn’t one to eavesdrop intentionally, his ears just lacked the capability to shut out other peoples’ private conversations. Andrew smiled at him as if he didn’t care if the whole world was listening. He was the kind of pure of heart guy that didn’t have anything to hide, Steve wondered what that was like.

“Don’t worry about it,” Andrew soothed into his phone, “I’ll get an Uber, actually no, there’s a bus that comes around here. I’ll get that.” Andrew laughed at something MJ said, “no I don’t have any money. I know how to talk my way out of a fine.” Steve raised his eyebrows at Andrew so casually talking about fare evading. Loki looked entirely pleased, and unsurprised. Maybe Andrew wasn’t exactly pure of heart, but he was a defintely good guy.

“yeah-yeah-yeah, ok. Love you too, bye.” Andrew slid his phone, the tip of his thumb subconsciously slipping between his teeth in thought. 

“Everything ok?” Steve asked.

“Hm? oh yeah! MJ just can’t pick me up after work. Car broke down at a client’s house,” Andrew explained. Steve didn’t know what MJ did for a living and at this point, he was too afraid to ask. Andrew always made it seem like MJ’s work involved helping people, he was always rushing to a new client's house. Steve’s best guess was a massage therapist. But Steve didn’t know any massage therapists that would be up at this hour. A very dedicated massage therapist perhaps?

“I can take you home,” Steve said. Andrew’s head shot up.

“Really? Thanks man. I owe you.” 

After the club was closed, they began cleaning up. Well, most of them cleaned up. Loki mysteriously vanished when Steve had turned to hand him a broom. Cleaning the club was a whole tedious and tiresome process, which was apparently beneath Loki, but it was worth it in the end when Steve knew he was not dancing on a sweat covered pole or leaning his arm on a mysteriously stick table.

“Ready to go?” Steve asked when he and Andrew were finished their nightly tasks.

“Yup,” Andrew bounced up from where he was sitting, swinging his ratty messenger bag over one shoulder. “Thanks again man. Oh! Do you have an aux cord?” 

“I have no idea what that is.” Steve admitted.

In the car Steve was discovering a lot of things he didn’t previously know. One of those things being that Andrew rambled a lot. Andrew made irrelevant things seem relevant, he discussed the most mundane things with passion. And despite the consistent stuttering, Steve found Andrew to be quite persuasive. Steve was even considering getting Spotify premium just because Andrew said he should. ‘It’s only, like, five bucks a month.’ Steve considered asking Andrew why he didn’t mind paying all that money for music but not a bus ticket. Steve held his tongue. It wasn’t any of his business and it wasn’t in Steve’s nature to judge someone for lack of money. 

Halfway through the car ride Steve realised he shouldn’t have drunk so much liquid. He waited to pass a McDonald's but none appeared. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Turn left here,” Andrew pointed to a dingy little street. Steve’s car vibrated under him as he drove off the smooth road and onto an unfinished gravel road. If Andrew hadn’t pointed out the street he would have missed it completely. His broken windowed apartment building was hidden behind a basketball court bordered by a tall metal fence. 

“Can I use your bathroom?” Steve blurted out. Andrew stared and for a second, Steve thought he would refuse; Instead, Andrew made a sound in the back of his throat that Steve thought was supposed to be a laugh.

“Sure man, don’t mind the mess.”

They walked up several flights of stairs. The elevator was broken and judging by the way Andrew didn’t even spare a glance at it, the elevator had been broken for a long time. 

The entire apartment complex smelt of old carpet and mysterious chemicals. This was the exact apartment Steve would see on the news because someone was murdered in it. Andrew didn’t seem to mind though, humming and doing a little skip with his hands tucked tightly in his pockets. Steve watched as Andrew fumbled for his keys. He brought them up to his door and when the door didn’t budge, Andrew threw his shoulder into it. 

“Yoooooo,” Steve said when he was immediately hit with the earth turned scent that could only be marijuana. Andrew turned to look at him in horror, more about the fact that he heard Steve say ‘yo’ it seemed. Steve cleared his throat awkwardly and made a mental note to stop hanging around Stark’s intern. 

“Wait,” Steve said, suddenly remembering a private conversation he had with Tony. “Andrew… Are you the one who’s been selling marijuana.” Andrew brought his thumb to his mouth, worrying at his nail.

“Uhhh,” Andrew’s voice went a few octaves higher than normal. “Yes?”

“Is that a question or an answer?”

“Ok yes. It’s just. Things have been tight with money lately, this old lady snitched on one of MJ’s clients and now people are too scared to buy from him and I said I’d help and I didn't think anyone would notice but apparently they did and–”

“Andrew.”

“Yeah?”

“Take a breath for me,” Steve asked. Andrew took a ragged inhale of air and on the exhale said “pleasedon’tellanyone.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone,” Steve said before he could decide otherwise. It would be hypocritical of him to get Andrew into trouble considering he’d done worse things in his lifetime; Afterall, he was the one who went against the government to hide his assassin best friend, not Andrew. Not to mention Steve, himself, had tried his hand at drugs before, curious on whether or not it would have an effect on him.

With Andrew calmed, Steve took the opportunity to use the bathroom. When he came out he studied Andrew’s apartment. It was rough looking; ripped couches that looked like they’d been taken off the side of the road were placed facing a wall (there was no TV), the carpet had mysterious stains across it and the walls looked to be decaying. Despite this, it was an oddly comforting apartment. Covering every wall were stylish grey-scaled photographs of the city, cars, smiling faces and a surprising amount of close ups of abs. On a cluttered table, an old camera sat.

“Did you take these photos?”

“Hm? Oh yeah. It’s just a hobby,’ Andrew said with a sheepish laugh and averted eye contact.

“Andrew, these are really good,” Steve said, running his fingers along the frames as an idea formed in his mind. “You could sell your photos, at the club I mean… Instead of the other stuff you were selling.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely.” 

Steve and Andrew sent the rest of the night planning the photo-shoots they could take of the Avengers and how much they would sell each photo for. Steve felt good about this plan. They managed to get rid of the drug problem without getting Andrew into trouble. Tony and Carol didn’t need to know that it was Andrew who was selling the marijuana. Andrew was just trying to get by, and Steve would be damned if he didn’t help his friend out. Yes, that’s what Andrew was, a friend.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: PWP  
The moment you've all been waiting for: Steve and Bucky work shit out.

Bucky lay face first in his pillows. He was trying to cut the world out but nothing was working. Through his earphones he could hear the traffic outside; breaks slamming, horns honking, people shouting abuse at each other. 

Bucky sighed and turned onto his back, blocking the light seeping through his curtains with his non-metal arm. Working night shifts meant trying to sleep during the day; which was impossible when all he could think about was seeing Steve again. He wasn’t ready to commit to a relationship but he also wasn’t ready to see the look of disappointment on Steve’s face when he told him that. 

Bucky checked his phone. 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Six more hours until he saw Steve. Six hours for Bucky to come up with a plan to break the news to Steve gently.

Maybe he should take a bath first. Yes, a bath. That always helped him think. Who needs sleep anyway?

Bucky changed into his fluffy robe then tied his hair into a bun as he waited for the bath to fill. He ran his hand through the heating water, watching the ripples dance through his fingers. He dropped in a bath bomb so the clear water fizzed out into a deep blue. He knew from experience not to put in red bath bombs; they looked too much like blood.

When the bath was filled, he took his time sinking into the depths of the water. He closed his eyes as all the tension in his shoulders bled out into the water. He rested his head on the edge of the bath. The only thing keeping him from falling asleep was the fact that he had to bend his legs to fit in the small space. 

He let his mind wander to images of Steve. Images of the night they shared. Images of the way Steve shivered and moaned and cried out his name when he put his mouth on him.  
Bucky felt a smile tug at his lips. His hand subconsciously slid down his stomach until it hovered above his already hardening cock.

With each pump of his hand, he thought of the ways he would have Steve: naked, on his knees in his uniform, bent over a table. The thought of Steve riding him senseless, legs shaking, wearing nothing but those stupid fingerless gloves he wore when they fought in Wakanda.

The bathwater made obscene slapping sounds as he worked at his cock. His metal arm gripped the side of the bath. His pace quickened. Steve, Steve, Steve. 

The doorbell rang. Bucky paused. His breath came out in pants. The doorbell rang again. Bucky scrambled up into a sitting position and waited to see if the person would give up and leave. The doorbell stopped ringing and he sat in silence. Bucky was about to lie back and continue where he left off but his phone buzzed on the floor next to the bath. 

He groaned, leaning over the bath and wiping his hands on the towels before checking his phone.  
‘Hey, are you awake?’ Steve had texted him. Shit. Maybe he could just ignore the text. But what if Steve had something really important to say? 

“Dammit,” he muttered and texted back, ‘Yeah just getting out of the bath.’

While Bucky dried himself and threw on his robe he tried to will away his erection. It didn’t help that he was still thinking about Steve. He thought of Hydra which was the equivalent of a very, very, cold shower but it also meant he was in a bad mood.

Bucky stumbled out of his bathroom and to his front door. He flung it open to see Steve standing there, shuffling his feet and rubbing the back of his neck.  
“Hi.”

“Hi.” Steve looked him up and down, the edges of his mouth twitching as his eyes lingered on his fluffy robe. Bucky raised an eyebrow, daring him to comment. Steve said nothing so he stepped aside to let him in.

“Can we talk?”

“What’s so important that you had to tell me before work?”

“I meant about us.”

There is no us, was his first thought. I wish there was an us, was his second thought. He ignored both and said, “oh.”

‘Yeah.’ Steve sat on the couch and Bucky sat next to him, making sure to keep a reasonable distance. “I just—”

“Listen, Steve, what I did. What we did. It was a mistake.”

“What?”

“You're my best friend Steve. I don’t want that to be ruined.”

“Buck,” Steve said. his voice was shaking. “You can’t mean that. We’ll always be best friends, this doesn’t change anything. I’m with you till the end of the line.”

“I’m sorry for leading you on but I can’t do this anymore.”

Steve sat in silence, wide-eyed. His mouth opened then shut and Bucky thought: it’s over. Steve hated him, but it was over. Bucky tried to ignore the tightening of his throat or the way his throat burned. He tried to ignore the glassy look in Steve’s eyes as he just sat there staring. 

“You’re lying,” Steve said slowly.

“I’m not—”

“No,” Steve said. “You’re not breaking off whatever this is because of our friendship. There’s something else.”

“There really isn’t.”

“Talk to me Buck,” Steve said, reaching out to touch his hand. Bucky pulled away. “Stop trying to shut me off all the time.”

“I’m not—this isn’t. Jeez!,” Bucky threw his hands into the “Why do you have to make this into something bigger than it really is. We are friends and friends don’t fuck.”

“What are you so scared of?”

“Nothing!” Bucky was off the couch now, pacing the carpet and furiously raking his hands through his hair.

“Just tell me the truth for once!” Steve was standing now too.

“Ok, fine!” Bucky halted his pacing and spun to face Steve. Bucky slammed his finger into his own chest with each word. “I’m scared. I’m scared of whatever this is. I’m scared that I’ll just get hurt! Or that I’ll hurt you! I’m scared, ok? Are you happy?”

“Why?”

“Because I love you!”

Once again, Steve went silent. Bucky’s heart dropped. Fuck, Bucky thought. He wasn’t supposed to say that. Why did he say that? He didn’t love Steve like that. Did he? Did he? Things were just getting too complicated and Steve still hadn’t said anything.

“I—I didn’t mean … Fuck Steve.”

“You love me?” Steve’s voice came out in a whisper.

“I—” Steve cut him off by slamming their mouths together. His hands were in his hair, tugging at his hair. Bucky’s hands hovered awkwardly at his hands before finding their way to Steve’s hip. When they broke off for air Steve said, “I love you,” panting the words out. Bucky just laughed in disbelief. Since when was his life such a romcom?

They stumbled their way to Bucky’s room. He ripped off Steve’s jacket as they kissed with a newfound ferocity. Steve pushed Bucky back onto the bed, kissing his neck. His robe had fallen open when he landed on the bed. He was completely naked while Steve was fully clothed, yet he didn’t feel awkward or vulnerable. Bucky’s hips rose off the bed when Steve sucked at his hip bone. 

“Steve,” he said, breathless. 

“Shhh.”

Steve moved so he was straddling his hips. He grabbed the back of his collar of his shirt and ripped it off. Bucky ran his hand down Steve’s toned chest, then trailed them back up to his neck so he could connect their lips again. Steve kissed his jaw then moved down to suck behind his neck. Bucky bit back a moan.  
“Tell me what you want,” Steve whispered into his ear. Bucky shivered.  
“I want—”

“Yes,” Steve smirked against his thigh. Jesus Christ. Steve sucked, teeth grazing gently against his soft flesh. Bucky balled his sheets into his fists, tipping his head as he arched his back.

“I want,” his breath hitched in his throat. He had the power here, what did he want. “I want you to fuck me.”

Steve’s breath hitched in his throat. He recovered with a smile, “alright.”  
“Stop looking so smug.” He reached over to his nightstand, riffling blindly through the draws until he found the lube and condoms. 

“I haven’t really done anything like this before.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Bucky…” He silenced Steve with a gentle kiss and rested their foreheads together. 

“We can stop any time you want. Ok?”

“Ok.”

Steve’s confidence came back immediately. He rushed to unbutton his jeans.

“Let me,” Bucky said, hands hovering over Steve’s. He gripped the edges of Steve’s pants and underwear and tugged them down—taking his time so he could soak up the way Steve’s hardening cock bounced out. Bucky bit his lip then flipped them so Steve was the one on his back. Bucky hovered his head above Steve’s cock, looking up to ask permission with his eyes. Steve nodded enthusiastically. Bucky kissed the edge of Steve’s cock, watching the way his head fell back against the pillows.

Bucky set a steady pace of sucking; using his other hands to stroke the base of his cock. 

“If you don’t stop, I won’t be able to last much longer.”

Bucky smirked around his cock and pulled his mouth off with a wet pop. He shuffled up to straddle Steve’s stomach and bent down to give him a quick peck on the lips. He then moved off Steve so he could grab the condoms that had been discarded across the bed. He slipped the condom onto Steve and then put his own on. He scooped out a generous amount of lube and rubbed it between his fingers to heat it up.

“Touch yourself,” Bucky said, voice hoarse. Steve bit his lip, nodding, and dragged his hand down his stomach until he reached his cock. Steve pumped at his cock, not breaking eye contact. With that, Bucky slipped the first finger into his own ass. Steve let out a low moan and Bucky slipped in the second finger. He set a steady scissoring motion. He licked his lips and moaned at the third finger. 

“Ready,” Bucky said with a wink. He felt thoroughly stretched out and ready for what Steve had to offer—and what Steve had to offer was a massive cock. He threw himself back onto Steve, straddling him. 

“And you’re sure about this?” Steve nodded enthusiastically. “Good.”

Bucky grabbed Steve’s cock, aiming it between his ass cheeks. He bit back a moan as he sunk down. He braced himself against Steve’s shoulders and, when he had adjusted to Steve’s girth, started to rock his hips.

“Bucky,” Steve said through a moan. “God Bucky you feel so good.”

“Fuck,” Bucky said, bouncing up and down. His thighs were shaking and his breath was heavy

Bucky was the first to come. His whole body tensed and he cried out against Steve’s lips. He rocked his hips for a few more minutes and Steve came. 

Steve got up and came back with a towel. Bucky was exhausted and let Steve clean up their sweat covered bodies. Steve threw out the used condoms and flopped onto the bed. They held each other in their arms. Steve was slowly drifting off his mouth opening as he nuzzled into the pillows. Bucky smiled to himself. If this is what it was like to be in love, he didn’t know why he had repressed it for so long.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but it is what it is.
> 
> Tony and Peter hang out and stuff.

Tony had a rough week. Looking after a high Peter was the easy part; finding out Thor’s brother was back from the dead—and wanting a job—was the hard part. He needed a break; so he took one. It was eight o’clock and Peter was in his room doing god knows what, so he decided to take the opportunity to pour himself a vodka cranberry. 

He went light on the vodka and heavy on the cranberry juice. He was in charge of a child tonight, after all. As he was slipping a lime onto the side of his glass, strong arms wrapped around his waist.

“Should I be worried?” Pepper asked, resting her chin against his shoulder. 

“You’d be worried if I wasn’t drinking.”

“Not true,’ Pepper’s lips formed a tight line. “I’m heading out now. Where’s Peter?”

“His room.”

“Alright. I better go before you give me a reason to stay and babysit the both of you.’ Pepper pecked his cheek, slapped his ass then sauntered out the room—strawberry ponytail swishing back and forth. 

Tony kicked back on the couch. He sipped his drink as he looked for something to watch in his Netflix recommendation section. Riverdale? He read the description; nope, definitely not for him. Glee? nope. Shadowhunters? nope. Gossip Girl? no thank you. What was up with his Netflix algorithm? Tony scrolled up and realised he was on Peter’s account. Well, that explained all the teenage drama shows.

“Hey, Mr Stark.” Ah, speak of the devil. Peter jumped over the back of the couch and landed next to him. “Watcha watching?”

“It's a toss-up between Kissing Booth one and Kissing Booth two.”

“You have to see the first one before you see the second.”

“Noted.”

It took them half an hour to decide what to watch. In the end they both agreed on Megamind. Peter commented on everything that happened; from how ‘like totally ahead of it’s time’ the movie was, to how cool the animation was. Tony didn’t mind, he’d seen the movie before and he preferred Peter saying everything on his mind to Peter keeping secrets from him. Hypocrite, his brain supplied unhelpfully. He shut the thought down. He was in a good place right now and he wasn’t going to let something like the moral ethics of keeping his striper persona a secret ruin his night. 

Peter curled up on the couch, his odd socks in Tony’s lap. As the credits rolled down, Peter’s eyes blinked slower and slower until they didn’t open again. It was only ten o’clock but the kid was probably tired from running around all day. The kid had endless energy—until he didn’t

Tony slipped off the couch, careful not to disturb Peter. He picked up the blanket draped over the couch and, as he tucked it over Peter, his phone rang. Peter bolted upright, nearly slamming heads with Tony.

“Wha?”

“Probably should have put my phone on silent,” He said and picked up his phone to see the caller ID. Carol. “This better be good.”

“Can you come in for a few hours.”

“Why? Finally realise Loki should not be serving drinks to people?”

“Loki?” Peter whispered.

“Who’s that?” Carol asked.

“No one,” Tony said as he made a shushing gesture at Peter. “So why is it you want me to come in on my one day off.”

“You have two days off. But whatever, Steve and Bucky haven’t shown up.”

“Of course they didn’t,” Tony sighed, running a hand down his face. Peter watched with furrowed brows. Shit, Tony thought when he realised Peter had super hearing and could hear everything Carol was saying. “Yes, ok fine. I’ll come in. Don’t say I haven’t ever done anything for you.’ Tony hung up before Carol could reply.

“Will you be ok by yourself for a couple of hours? You won’t burn down the place or put a fork in the toaster?”

“What? No. I’ll be fine. Where are you going?”

“Just some superhero stuff.”

“Did you need Spider-Man for this one?”

“The way you refer to yourself in third person horrifies me. But no, not this time,” Tony said. Then for good measure he said, “FRIDAY will wake you up if I need you.”

Peter nodded earnestly but there was still that furrow in his brow like he wasn’t satisfied with his lie. Which was rude considering Tony thought it was an excellent lie. Tony waved and walked onto the elevator as casually as possible. When the doors shut he let himself frown. Steve and Bucky just had to pick now of all times to sort through whatever bizarre sexual tension was hanging between them. They better have had some mind-blowing sex or Tony was gonna be pissed. 

When he got to the club Thor was already dancing in just his underwear. Women sat around the stage whistling. From the bar, Loki rolled his eyes. 

“Oh good you’re here,’ Loki said, not looking up as he poured vodka into shot glasses. “They were talking about getting that red man, Vision, up onto the stage. I said ‘no one wants to see that’ but it seemed they were getting too desperate to listen.” 

“Right, well, not that this isn’t a lovely conversation, but I have to get ready.”

“Yes, yes. Off you go.”

When Tony got into the change room he sighed. He peeled off his tracksuit pants and replaced them with the bedazzled suit pants he wore for some shows.

“You ok?” Tony spun around, clutching his chest. Natasha leaned against the door frame with crossed arms.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to leave the literal terrorist who, by the way, has killed people, by himself?”

“Answer my question so I can get back to babysitting him then.”

“Yep, I’m fine. Perfect. Brilliant. Oh! unless you count the fact that the seventeen-year-old I have legal guardianship over almost found out I was a stripper. So yeah, other than that I’m great.”

“Peter right? Was it his super hearing?” Natasha asked, pushing herself away from the door so she could stand in front of Tony. He froze.

“What?”

“Spider-Man does have super hearing, doesn’t he? Did he overhear your phone call?”

“No, I got what you meant. But I’m just trying to figure out the connection here. Why do you think Peter is Spider-Man?”

“Because he is.”

“He really isn’t,” Tony said. He sat down, sighing as he ran his hands down his face. He looked up at Natasha who was watching him with a raised eyebrow. Shit, how did she figure it out? So much for keeping Peter and Spider-Man separate. Tony’s chest tightened. He wouldn’t let Peter get dragged into all of this. He couldn’t let the others know his identity.

“You can relax. I’m not going to tell anyone,” Natasha said. She put one hand on his shoulder and the tightening in his chest eased. 

“How did you work it out?”

“I’m a trained spy, Tony,’ she said, crossing her arms again. She smirked. “Also, the kid doesn’t shut up. I’ve heard Peter talk and I’ve heard Spider-Man talk. Same voice, so I connected the very obvious dots.”

“Jesus Christ. I told him to stop the running commentary when he’s got guns pointed at him.” Tony watched Natasha; her face didn’t give away anything she was thinking. “I guess you know why I was so against Spider-Man joining our little club then?”

“Yep. But don’t worry. Andrew’s definitely here to stay.”

“God I hope so.” Natasha chuckled and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder before leaving him to get changed. When he was sure he was alone, Tony sighed and slumped into his chair. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He could trust Natasha with this secret. He finally had someone to confide in that wasn’t Pepper. He knew Natasha would help him keep the whole ‘stripper’ thing a secret from Peter. A chuckle bubbled in his throat and soon he was laughing uncontrollably into an empty room. Everything was going to be ok.


End file.
